


The Son Will Rise

by TheWeirdPersonNextDoor



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Asthma, Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), F/M, Family Bonding, Hurt/Comfort, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Pre-Spider Bite Peter Parker, Spider Bite Time, Tony Stark Has A Heart, will get bit in the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23354005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeirdPersonNextDoor/pseuds/TheWeirdPersonNextDoor
Summary: Thirteen years, three months, and eight days after the kidnapping of Tony and Pepper Stark's son, Peter Parker walked into Stark Industries on a school field trip not suspecting to have his world flipped upside down.
Relationships: Ben Parker & Peter Parker, Ben Parker/May Parker (Spider-Man), May Parker & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 255
Kudos: 1164
Collections: All Marvel works that I like (or most of them), Stories in which Peter Stark was kidnapped as a child.





	1. Chapter 1

December 5, 2002 

The first sign that something was wrong happened when Peter woke up an hour early from his nap. Tony was in the lab working on the newest prototype for the company when the baby monitor relayed Peter’s cries. At first it was only sniffling and Tony thought the baby might settle down on his own. Unfortunately, for the inventor, the sniffling turned into screaming, and Tony hurried up the stairs to comfort his son.

Tony found Peter, red in the face, wailing, while holding on to the bars of his crib. 

“Petey,” Tony cooed while picking up his son, “what’s wrong?”

Obviously, Peter didn't respond, but his screaming lowered to a whimper that melted his dad’s heart. 

Tony went to brush Peter’s curly brown hair out of his little face, but as soon as he put a hand on Peter’s forehead, he could feel the heat radiating off of him. 

“ _Poverino_ ,” Tony whispered to his son placatingly. 

Somehow, those words didn't work for Peter because not a minute later he threw up all over his dad’s chest. 

March 7, 2016

Peter’s hand shook slightly as he walked into the kitchen holding the permission slip for his upcoming field trip. He needed one of his parents to sign it, and, naturally, the only way to get them to do that would be to lie. Peter’s parents, Mary and Richard Parker, were disappointed in him for a lot of reasons, but one of the big ones was his hero worship of Tony Stark. 

It wasn’t clear to Peter why his parents hated Mr. and Mrs. Stark. (Maybe it was because of their money and lifestyle?) But for Peter, Tony Stark was his role model ever since the man became Iron Man. Mr. Stark had immense power and influence and instead of wasting it he used it for good. 

This is why Peter had to lie; the field trip was to Stark Industries. It had been announced during Physics that Mrs. Emerson’s freshman class would be visiting Avenger’s Tower where the Stark Industries offices were based. 

Of course it was just Peter’s luck that his parents would never let him go on the trip if they knew where they were _really_ going. His parents were always extremely controlling, and somehow their ideas of what was good never aligned with Peter's. He dreamed that just once his parents would understand that the people he admired weren't terrible. But until then the teen had a plan. 

“Hey Mom.” Peter sat down at the kitchen counter.

“Good morning dear,” Mrs. Parker replied while pouring Mr. Parker a coffee. 

“My class is going on a field trip, can I get you to sign the permission form?” Peter lifted his paper, showing her the consent form that had been carefully cut to remove the paragraph detailing the location of the trip. She barely glanced at the paper before grabbing a pen. 

“That sounds fun,” she remarked while signing her son’s life away on the school form. “Where are you going?”

“Uh, Oscorp Industries,” the teen said, phrasing it more as a question than a statement. 

Mrs. Parker handed the paper back ( _mission successful_ ).“That’s interesting, what class is it for?” This was more questions than Peter was used to getting from his parents.

“Uh, physics class.”

His mom stopped moving to look up at him. “Really? I thought Oscorp specialized in bioengineering?”

Peter stood up from his chair in case he had to make a run for the front door if his cover was blown.“Uh, yeah, weird.” An awkward pause stretched for a beat. “Anyway, I have to go to school, bye!”

March 11, 2016

Peter sat at the back of the school bus three days later with Ned on their way to Stark Industries. 

“Do you think Tony Stark will be there?” Ned asked, talking almost too fast to be understood. 

“He’s probably in the building, but he won’t be _there_ there.” Peter didn’t want to get Ned’s hopes up even though he himself was daydreaming of meeting Mr. Stark. 

The pair of friends continued to chat for the rest of the ride and only stopped when their teacher started giving instructions. 

“Alright class, remember when we step off this bus you’re representing Midtown Tech, so I expect you all to be on your best behavior. We’ll be going through security, so if you have any cameras on you please leave them here. When we get inside our tour guide will give us instructions. Any questions?” No one raised their hand. “Ok, follow me.” 

Mrs. Emerson and the other chaperone from the school, Mr. Ashby, lead the way off the bus and into the huge lobby of Stark Industries. Peter and Ned looked around in awe. The lobby was beautiful, a full wall of windows looked out on the street. The Stark Industries logo hung on the wall behind the long reception desk. A vaulted ceiling with railed balconies belonging to at least twenty floors towered above them. Metal and glass staircases connected the floors to each other in a spider web of organized chaos. 

The class was ushered over by the tour guide, and he greeted them. “Hi Midtown School! It’s so nice to see you all! I’m Javon, I’ll be your tour guide today. Before we get started, let’s go over a few things quickly. You will be given a visitor’s badge to swipe, and your fingerprint will be scanned before entering and exiting the building for security purposes. You’ll also be going through a security check before entering the offices and the rest of the building. I have to ask you to refrain from taking pictures on phones unless I give you direct permission. Cameras are strictly prohibited. 

“The tour is long, but I’ve made sure to have plenty of activities along the way to keep everyone interested. If anyone has to use the restroom on the tour, just ask. We’ll be having lunch at 12:30. Any questions?” No one raised their hand, so Javon started handing out the badges: just white pieces of paper with the name of their school and a magnetic strip that could be clipped on clothes. The class then moved on to the security station where everyone swiped their pass and put their finger on a scanner before setting any bags on an x-ray machine and going through the metal detector. Peter was almost last in line with only Mr. Ashby behind him. 

After the people in front of him trickled away, Peter swiped his card and placed his finger on the scanner. The guard’s brow furrowed and he clicked a few things on the screen before requesting, “Can you try a different finger please?” 

Peter put his other pointer finger on the scanner and waited. He tugged anxiously at the collar of his uncomfortable blue button-down shirt. The guard looked back at his screen, brow still furrowed. 

“Sir, can I ask you to step out of line please,” he said to Peter before whispering into his walkie talkie, “We have a possible Baby Bear Protocol.”

Peter followed instructions and stepped out of the line, fingers twisting together in an embodiment of the anxiety inside him. He didn’t know what he’d done wrong. 

“Excuse me sir, I’m Peter’s chaperone. Can I ask, what is this all about?” Mr. Ashby asked the guard. 

“Uh... I’m not sure I can really say right now. I’m going to take him to a conference room right over here,” He gestured to his left where a hallway was, “to ask him a few questions and clarify some things. You’re his chaperone?” 

Mr. Ashby nodded in confirmation. 

“I’ll need you to come with.”

By this time all of Peter’s classmates had noticed what was going on and were staring. _What had Peter done?_

December 5, 2002

Every parent panics when their child gets sick for the first time. Pepper Stark was no exception. After receiving Tony’s call, the man also alarmed, she drove home faster than she ever had before. Tony was usually very composed, and hearing his frazzled voice scared her. 

She barely stopped the car before jumping out and rushing in the house, scaling the stairs two by two up to Peter’s room. The sight she found was not a pretty one.

Tony had a towel covering his shirt to protect it from anymore throw up. Her husband paced back and forth trying to keep their son from crying, and Peter was squirming uncooperatively in his arms. 

“Ma-Ma-Ma!” Peter squealed and put his arms out for his mom to pick him up. She obliged, and he nuzzled into Pepper’s chest. Holding her son in her arms helped her to calm down. 

“He doesn't like the thermometer,” Tony stated. He held up the white thermometer that was supposed to go in the baby’s ear. 

“Understandable, have you called his pediatrician?” Tony had told her over the phone that he would. 

“Yeah, she was worried about dehydration. He has a 101.2 fever and I gave him Baby Tylenol, which the doctor approved.” Tony ran a hand through his hair. “The doctor said to give him twenty-four hours and see if he can keep any fluids down.” 

Pepper looked between her husband and son. “Sounds like a plan.” 

March 11, 2016

The guard walked them down a hallway. He led them to a room that was empty except for a table with chairs surrounding it and told them that someone would come to explain everything in a bit. 

Peter collapsed into a chair at the table and put his head in his hands. This was about the worst way the field trip could have gone so far. Mr. Ashby sat next to him. 

“Peter, what happened?”

“I don’t know!” Peter looked up, “I just scanned my fingerprint! I don’t know what’s going on.” He’d never been arrested, and he didn't work at Stark Industries, there was no reason for his fingerprint to be flagged on the system. For all his daydreaming, Peter never thought up this scenario. The chaperone and student stayed quiet, lost in thought until a woman in a white lab coat came in the room only a few minutes later. 

  
  


“Hi! My name is Kelsey, I work for Stark Industries. Can I talk to you, Mr. Ashby, outside for a second?” 

Mr. Ashby looked reluctant to leave Peter alone, but his curiosity beat his worry and he left with Kelsey. 

Now that Peter was alone he pulled out his cell phone, to find twenty-seven missed messages from Ned asking why he was taken away by security. Peter put his phone away without replying; he didn’t want to disrupt Ned’s trip, and he also didn’t know what he would say anyway. He needed to know what was going on. 

Peter stayed seated at the table playing video games on his phone, trying desperately (and failing) to clear his mind, until Kelsey opened the door again. 

“Hi Peter! We just have to run a quick test then we’ll tell you what’s going on, how does that sound?” She smiled kindly waiting for Peter’s reply. 

“What kind of test?” Peter asked. 

“I just need you to swab the inside of your mouth then put it in this tube for a DNA sample.” She held out a small tube that Peter took. Swabbing the inside of his mouth then putting the cotton swab back in the tube, he did as he was told. It probably wasn’t legal to take a DNA sample without his parents permission, but he was willing to do almost anything to be told why he was being kept here at this point. 

She left him alone in the room again. He was so anxious even video games couldn’t take his mind off of his situation. Different scenarios of what could happen ran through his head. What if they involved the police? His dad would be ticked if Peter got in trouble with the law. The teen wasn't sure how long he sat alone in the room. 

Finally the waiting ended when the door opened again, and this time it wasn’t Kelsey. It was Tony Stark. 

December 6, 2002

In 24 hours Peter only got worse. Pepper and Tony made the decision to take him to the Children’s Hospital of LA where he was admitted. Peter was dehydrated and was being treated with IV fluids. He had his own room with a little crib and a futon for his parents. 

“Da-Da! No! Da-Da!” Peter sat in his crib picking at the sock covering his forearm protecting the IV. 

“I can't take that off right now Petey,” Tony placated, leaning over the crib bars to see his son. 

Peter huffed in dismay, then immediately forgot his discomfort and yawned; it was almost past his bedtime.

Pepper had gone home to sleep. There was only room for one person on the futon, and Tony had volunteered. There was a guard outside of the room, just in case anyone figured out Tony Stark was at the hospital with his son. Fans were crazy. 

“It’s bedtime Petey.” Tony lifted his son out of the crib, careful of the IV. He watched Peter’s eyelids droop as he read _Sleepy Bears,_ his son’s favorite book. 

The father placed his son back in the crib and whispered a line from the book, “Sleep, my baby bear, I’m here.” 

Peter was asleep not five minutes later. Tony followed suit after two hours, so no one was awake to prevent what was to come. 

March 11, 2016

Tony Stark hated paperwork. That was part of the reason he appointed Pepper CEO of Stark Industries. Unfortunately for the billionaire, it turned out co-owners of companies still have to sign things. That’s where he found himself every Friday, sitting at Pepper’s desk in their penthouse, signing whatever she gave him. He had more fun on the days she was there with him, but that particular Friday the CEO was on a business trip in the UK. 

Needless to say, Tony was not in a good mood. He was happy to take any opportunity to get away from the office. So when the phone call from the security department at Stark Industries came in, he picked up. The man didn't even gripe about the interruption to his work like he usually would. 

“What’s up? A national emergency I hope. I’ll probably have to leave work all day, what a shame.” 

“Um, not exactly sir.” The man on the other end of the line sounded nervous. “The Baby Bear Protocol was triggered.” Tony dropped the phone. It felt like all the air had left his chest. The protocol Tony had made years ago had been triggered. The protocol that would only go off if his son’s fingerprint were scanned by either the police or the security system at Stark Industries. 

Tony recovered enough to pick his phone back up. “Are you sure?”

“A DNA test came back positive sir. He’s on the ground floor.” 

The father managed to say, “thanks, I’ll be down in a second,” and hung up before a sob made its way up his throat. His kid was back, but they had missed so much time with him. How was he found? Was he hurt? Did he know who his parents were? There was only one way to find the answers to his questions. Tony went to find his son. 

oOo

A Stark Industries security guard met Tony as he exited his private elevator. 

“Where’s my son?” 

The guard didn't reply; he just led the way silently. They only had to walk for a few minutes before stopping in front of a door. A middle aged woman with brown hair and matching eyes stood up and stuck out her hand. “Mr. Stark, I'm Jennifer Lawson. I’m a social worker here to talk to your son.”

The father shook her hand. “Thanks,” he gave a false smile, “I think I can take it from here.” 

“Sir, I don't think you quite understand.” 

“What I _understand_ is that _my son_ , who was kidnapped and missing for _thirteen years_ has been found. And you’re trying to tell me _not_ to go in and talk to him.” Tony put on his best ‘give me what I want or I’ll destroy everything you love’ expresion. “Is that right?”

The look didn’t work. “Mr. Stark, this is a complicated situation. Your son has been living with people he believes to be his adopted parents.”

Tony opened his mouth to ask a question but Jennifer did something almost no one ever did: she interrupted him. “They faked adoption papers; they’re in police custody.” 

“I don't care about protocol right now. I just want to see my son.” The tone of desperation finally broke the social workers will. 

“I’ll make a deal with you Mr. Stark. You can go in that room and talk to your son for a few minutes before I go in, but you can't tell him that he’s your son.”

“What?” Tony was indignant.

“You heard me Mr. Stark. I don't trust you to break the news to your son in an appropriate manner.” 

The man sighed. He knew when there was an argument he wasn't going to win. “Fine, I’ll let you tell him.” 

March 11, 2016

Mr. Stark stood in the doorway looking more nervous than Peter had ever seen him on TV. The man held his left wrist as if it was in pain. The billionaire wore jeans and an old band tee shirt, a level of casual not usually seen by the public. 

Peter stood up from his chair, stumbling as he got up. “What... I... do...” Peter somehow composed himself enough to say, “I’m sorry uh sir, do you- do you need this, um, this room I can... I can go...” Peter just looked at Mr. Stark with his mouth unknowingly open. It felt hard to breath but Peter wasn’t sure if that was the fault of his asthma or not. 

“You don’t need to go kid,” Tony murmured as he closed the door behind him and stepped further into the room. He sat at the table and Peter scrambled to follow, almost tripping as he did. 

Tony sat there not saying or doing anything but looking at Peter for a while before Peter finally worked up the courage to break the silence. 

“I just want to say I’m- I’m a big fan of your work, uh, sir.” 

“You don’t have to call me sir, Peter.”

The teen in question nearly choked. _Tony Stark knew his name!!!_ Wait, was he in trouble with Tony Stark? Was that why his fingerprints were flagged at security? 

They sat in silence, Peter’s knee bouncing up and down. He wasn’t going to say anything else in case Mr. Stark was angry at him. 

Eventually Tony realized the teen wasn’t going to do all the talking for him and he spoke, “How’s school going, kid?” Tony knew it was lame and forced as soon as he said it, but he couldn’t take it back now. 

“It’s pretty good. High school's pretty different from middle school.” Peter had to force himself to speak, but graciously held on to any topic the billionaire offered. He was just happy to _talk_ to his hero, he didn’t care that it was about his experience as a freshman in high school. 

“Yeah? Different in a good way or a bad way?”

“Oh- uh, there’s a lot more freedom which is nice.” Peter was surprised that _Tony Freaking Stark_ was actually engaging in his dumb conversation. 

“Do you have a favorite class?”

“I really like physics?”

Mr. Stark smiled at the table. “You like science?” 

“Yeah!” Peter decided how much he should show his fan-ism. “Actually, um, you- you’re what made me interested in, uh, in the STEM fields.” Peter looked bashfully down at the table and didn’t notice Tony’s eyes fill with tears. 

This was basically Peter’s dream--to get to talk to Tony Stark--but it was also nice to talk to an adult that seemed genuinely interested in his life. Of course, Mr. Stark was probably just being nice.

Peter still wasn’t any closer to figuring out why he was being kept here… or why Tony Stark ( _Tony Stark!!!_ ) was willingly having a conversation with him. 

Tony opened his mouth to say something, but the door opened again. 

A woman with brown hair and kind eyes walked into the room. 

Mr. Stark stood up, he seemed to understand what was going on. He smiled and said, “I’ll see you in a minute kid,” before leaving. 

The woman took Mr. Stark’s seat. “Hi Peter, I’m Ms. Lawson, I'm a social worker. I’m going to explain what’s going on. Does that sound good?” She talked to the teen the way you talk to a scared child, which, understandably, Peter was in that moment. 

The high schooler just nodded back; he was ready to know what was going on. He didn’t like being kept in the dark for so long. 

“Have you heard of Pepper and Tony Stark’s son?”

Peter nodded again, not sure where this was going. Everyone that was even remotely connected to popular culture had heard of the missing Peter Stark.

“When you scanned your fingerprint today it matched one that was already in the Stark Industries system. They matched Peter Stark’s.”

Peter just stared at her dumbfounded for a second. “But I’m— I’m not... _that_ Peter. I’m Peter _Parker_. I was adopted, not kidnapped! Wouldn’t I know if I was- was kidnapped!?” 

“I know this is hard to believe, but we did a DNA test. It came back positive.” Ms. Lawson stopped talking to give him a minute to process. 

Peter stared down at the table, lost in thought. His dad ( _was Richard Parker still his dad?_ ) had always been a jerk, but would he really kidnap a baby? Maybe this is why they hated Tony and Pepper Stark. Heck, when the Starks had moved to New York his parents(?) had talked about leaving the city. Maybe they wanted to move because they didn’t want to be found out. 

Peter had dreamed about meeting his birth parents. He’d thought about what he would say to them, if he would yell or cry. This is never what he had imagined. 

“What’s gonna happen now?” Mr. Stark coming in and talking to Peter had probably been him deciding whether he still wanted his now teenaged son. Peter probably blew his one chance of having a relationship with his birth parents. Would the Starks even want a _teenager_? Would they want someone they didn't raise? 

“Mr. and Mrs. Parker were arrested for your kidnapping.” She cringed internally as she said it. Telling a kid that their parents were going to jail was never easy. “There’s going to be an investigation and the FBI will probably want to talk to you at some point.”

“Am I going into foster care?” Peter’s voice was barely above a whisper. He stared down at his fisted hands as he waited for a reply. 

“No honey.” Peter looked up at Ms. Lawson's soft reply. “Mr. and Mrs. Stark want their son back. Does that sound good to you?”

Peter couldn’t speak so he just gave a jerky nod. 

Ms. Lawson got up from the table. “Mr. Stark’s waiting for you if you want to follow me.”

December 7, 2002

“Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark?” The doctor’s voice woke Tony from his sleep.

“I’m awake,” he mumbled, sitting up. Tony opened his eyes taking in the small hospital room again. The crib was empty. “Is Peter okay?” Tony questioned. 

“We don't know where he is.” 

“What the hell do you mean you don’t know where he is?” Tony yelled, fully awake now. 

“Your security guard is missing, could Peter be with him?”

“No! He doesn't know Peter! Who runs security at this hospital?” The doctor opened her mouth to speak, but Tony interrupted her, “You know what, I don’t care, just take me to them right now!” 

The doctor obliged, leading the distraught father through the halls of the hospital. She led him to the door of the security office. Tony ventured in by himself. 

“Mr. Stark,” the security guard, an older woman with dark hair coiled in a bun that was coming loose, looked terrified. “Um… sir I reviewed the security tapes from outside your room and,” the guard took a deep breath, “it appears that a masked man took your son off hospital property.” The guard started saying something about the police, but Tony couldn't hear her words. His world had stopped. His son was missing. 

Later, after years of therapy, Tony would be able to process the rest of what happened that day, but in the moment, all he knew was pain. 

March 11, 2016

Tony paced back and forth in-front of the room where his son was. ( _His son!)_ Tony had called Pepper while the social worker talked to Peter. They had their baby back. She was on a plane back to New York and was scheduled to be home before dinner.

At some point Tony would have F.R.I.D.A.Y. find any available information on Peter and the Parkers, but he couldn't focus on that yet. 

Tony stopped pacing when the door finally opened. The social worker Tony didn’t remember the name of stepped out with Peter in tow. Peter stood looking at the billionaire awkwardly shifting from foot to foot. Tony stumbled forward, meeting his son with outstretched arms. He wrapped his arms around his son lightly as if the teen would break. Peter reciprocated the hug, not sure what else to do. The father cradled his son’s head in the way only a parent does, the way you support a baby’s head when they have no neck strength. 

“I'm so sorry kid,” Tony whispered so only Peter could hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!  
> The Book mentioned is actually a children's book that exists and one that I really enjoyed as a child. It did exist in 2002.  
> I hope to update within the month, with the next chapter:)  
> Feel free to leave or questions or suggestions down in the comment section below!  
> Happy Reading!  
> -Jewell


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Tony play a cheesy game. Peter meets new people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: In this chapter Peter is very self deprecating about both himself in general and the fact that he has asthma. The view Peter holds about his own self worth DO NOT reflect my own view. Peter also talks about his not so great relationship with Richard Parker. If any of that would trigger you or upset you in any way please don't read. You can PM on FanFiction.net, or message me on Tumblr (Both @TheWeirdPersonNextDoor) for an in depth summary.

Peter couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that he was sitting in the kitchen of  _ Tony Stark’s _ penthouse eating a sandwich. The penthouse was  _ by far  _ the nicest home Peter had ever been in. There weren't so much separate rooms, as there was one big living area. The kitchen was on the left, with a smaller dining room also on the left, but closer to the giant wall of curved glass. There were floor to ceiling glass windows in a semicircle across the room. The view was amazing: the skyline of Manhattan spread out before him.

On the right side of the room, the living room had big overstuffed leather couches facing a huge TV, there were a couple game tables, and even a foosball table. Just behind the living room was the only place in the living space separate from the rest. Pepper’s office had glass walls (that could become opaque with two taps). She had a big desk with bookshelves behind. The bookshelves had a rolling ladder! 

Tony and Peter hadn’t talked much on the way up to the penthouse or while making food. Neither really knew what to say. 

Peter had to try and make conversation at some point, and the silence was stressing him out. “Do the Avengers live here?” That was good enough, right?

“They live in the tower but they have their own floors.” Tony replied. 

“Do they, uh, know about… me?” 

“I haven’t told them we found you. I decided to give you a day before the Avengers descend upon you like mother hens.” 

They fell into silence again and Peter searched for a new topic. 

“My class is still on a field trip,” blurted the high schooler. 

“Shi-oot.” Tony caught himself before swearing. (Pepper would get mad at him if he corrupted their kid before she got home). A field trip made sense, the Baby Bear Protocol would have been triggered when Peter scanned his fingerprint coming in the building with his class. “I can, uh, call your teacher and tell them that you won’t be coming back to the tour if that’s okay with you.” 

Peter was put down that he wouldn’t be able to see Stark Industries, but considering his  _ parents _ owned it he could probably get a tour at a different time. “What’ll you say if they ask about me getting taken by security?” Peter questioned. 

“I could say it was a mixup? They thought you were someone else?” Tony was better than Peter at coming up with cover stories, but he still wasn’t good. 

Peter agreed to the plan, and Tony called the school. “Hi! This is Richard Parker,” Tony’s had to force his voice to say the name, “Peter Parker’s dad. He was on a field trip to Stark Industries and got sick, so I picked him up, and he won’t be finishing the tour. Yes. I know, I’m sorry, next time I’ll make sure to sign him out. Thank you!” He hung up. 

Peter’s school records weren’t up to date, so Tony had to pretend to be Mr. Parker. Tony made a mental note to go into Peter’s school and get that sorted out. 

While Tony called the school, Peter texted Ned. 

oOo

Peter:  _ Hi Ned _

Ne(r)d: _ DUDE WTH HAPPENED _

Peter: _ Sry security thought I was someone else :( _

Ne(r)d:  _ Y aren’t u back w/ the group yet??? _

Peter:  _ I wasn’t feeling well, my dad came and picked me up _

Ne(r)d:  _ Ur dad never picks u up.  _

Peter:  _ Yh… _

Peter:  _ My backpack’s on the bus, can u take it back to ur house with u? I’ll come to pick it up and explain everything _

Ne(r)d: _ K, but I’m stealing a piece of gum from ur hidden stash bc u ditched me _

Peter:  _ Knock yourself out :) _

oOo

When both of them were done with their respective responsibilities, Peter asked a harder question. “Um… what should I- what should I call you?” He couldn’t quite meet Tony’s eyes when he said it. 

“Whatever makes you feel comfortable, kid. Except Mr. Stark or sir, that's too formal.” Of course Tony wanted his son to call him Dad, but he also wanted Peter to be comfortable, and calling a man he barely knew ‘Dad’ might be weird for the kid. 

“Alright Broski.” Peter glanced up, trying to gage Tony’s reaction. _ Had he gone too far?  _

“Not that either.” Tony cracked a smile and Peter laughed. “Oh, I almost forgot, let me show you your room, Peter.” 

There was only one guest room on the Stark’s floor, so that was the room they were giving Peter. It was a big room with plain beige paint on two of the walls and floor to ceiling windows on the other two with a door out to the balcony. There was a queen size bed in the corner touching the wall, a desk with a spinny office chair, and a couch facing the tv near the windows. 

Peter took it all in, mouth open in astonishment.

“Your bathroom’s right through that door,” Tony pointed to the door closest to them, “and your closet is through the other one.” 

“Mr- um, Tony...” Peter looked around in a slow circle, “this is too much.” He turned back to his dad, “You didn’t have to do this for me.” 

“Kid, this is our guest bedroom. It’s literally the least we could do. Now, I have people at your old place packing up your room to bring here. Do you want any of the furniture from your old room?” 

“You mean instead of this?” He asked, gesturing to the room in front of him. 

“Yeah.” 

“No, this is… awesome.” Peter took another look around the room. 

“Great. Second, and final question: is there anything outside your room that you want them to bring?” 

“Oh, uh, I have a basket of clothes outside my room. And my toothbrush in the bathroom.” 

Tony scoffed, “We can get you a new toothbrush.”

Peter felt a flush of embarrassment, “Right yeah.” 

“Anything else?” Tony looked up from his phone where he was texting Happy with all the extra instructions for the movers. 

“I left my backpack on the bus and my friend’s going to take it to his house for me, is it okay, um, if I go to get it later today? I- I have money for the subway.” Peter didn’t want to be a burden to another Dad, so he wasn’t going to ask for a ride or money. 

“Let me drive you.” Tony offered. 

“No, you- you don’t have to do that-” 

“Peter stop. I literally just found you after thirteen years. I’m not quite ready to have you walking the streets of New York City by yourself.” There was a slight tremor in Tony’s voice. 

“Ok, that’s fine. I don't think he’s at home yet.” It was barely 11:30, Ned wouldn't be home until after 3:00. 

“That’s fine. I have all day, kid.” Tony smiled kindly. He led the way back through the hallway to the living room. Peter followed his dad’s example and took a seat on the large sofa. It was the comfiest couch the teen had ever been on; he seemed to melt right into it. “I imagine this is probably not how you envisioned this day going.” 

Peter chuckled. “Not quite.” 

“Peter, I know this is… an unusual situation. When you were born… let's just say, this is not how I wanted your life to go so far. But we can't change the past; that's how the chips fell.” Tony was looking out of the giant windows, seeing into the past. 

Tony’s gaze came back to Peter’s face. “I’m glad I got you back now. ” That one sentence held more love than Richard had  _ ever  _ shown the teen. He could feel it warm his chest and made him want to simultaneously smile and cry. But he didn’t do either because Tony might not understand what prompted the reaction, and that would bring up too many questions. 

“I gotta stop being sappy, it’s not five o’clock yet.” Tony stood up clasped his hands together loudly for dramatic affect. “We got a few years to make up, kid. I’d like to propose we play a cheesy game.” 

“Sure,” Peter smiled slightly back at his dad, “as long as you're not busy!” 

Tony waved him off. “Nope. Not busy.” He briefly looked over to the stack of paperwork that he’d left on the desk early that day, but he thought Pepper would understand why it wasn't complete. 

“What game were you, uh, thinking about?” Peter asked shyly. 

Tony flopped back down on the sofa. “A game like truth or dare, but only truth.” Tony was not prepared to play the dare portion of truth or dare with a teenager; that seemed dangerous. 

“So, like… just asking each other questions?” 

Tony was caught off guard by the frank question, exposing his game for what it truly was. “Well… if you put it that way… Is it too cheesy? We don't have to play it.”

“No, no, no, it's fine,” Peter rushed to reassure his dad. “We can call it Truth or Truth. It'll be fun!” The teen didn't want to make his dad upset, but he was also happy to have the opportunity to ask him questions freely. 

“A perfect name! Who should go first?”

“You can, if you want to.” Peter didn’t know what question he would even ask yet. 

“Okay.” Tony thought for a moment, “What school do you go to, kid?”

“Midtown Tech.”

Tony was taken aback slightly, “That’s a really good school. Pricey too.” Tony had made donations to their scholarship program a number of times.

Peter, who actually went to the school and knew that half the kids were only there because their parents had a lot of money, just said, “I guess. It’s easier to get in when you apply in middle school. I’ve been going since sixth grade. But don't worry about the money! I’m on scholarship.” Peter rushed to reassure his dad. 

Tony let out a bark of a laugh, “I wasn't worried, kid.” He took a beat, then said, “I do believe it’s your turn.” 

“Uhh… What’s your favorite color?”

That was such a kid’s question. It made Tony remember just how young Peter really was. Still asking about favorite colors. “Seriously kid? You can ask me anything and that’s the question you go for?” 

Peter, unsure if his dad was actually mad or not backtracked, “um- sorry- I can- I can think of, um, of something else.”

His words were met with a shaking head and a smiling face. “Nope, I did say you could ask anything, that was my mistake. Not many people have asked me what my favorite color is. I guess it has to be red. The color of my suit red.” The color of Pepper’s favorite lipstick. “Of course gold’s also on the suit, but I can’t say that’s my favorite color or people would think I’m tacky.” Tony continued, asking his question, “What’s  _ your _ favorite color, Peter?” 

The kid smirked at that. “I really like blue. Dark, but, like, not quite navy.” Peter’s turn to ask a question. He had to think. “What’s your favorite place that you’ve ever lived?” 

Tony thought for a second. “When Pepper was pregnant with you, we bought a home a few hours away from the Malibu one.” The Malibu house that was blown up a few years later. “The house was built around a windmill and we set up a lounge at the top, where there was an amazing view of the ocean. It was so peaceful there.”  _ The calm before the storm. _ Tony cleared his throat and broke himself out of reminiscence. “My turn to ask. Tell me about your friends.”

“That’s not really a question,” Peter pointed out quietly, but he obliged the request. “Ned, I think I’ve mentioned him already, we met in sixth grade and hit it off, I guess.” 

Tony was watching him intently. He would know all of this already if he’d just  _ been better _ and Peter hadn’t been taken. A father was supposed to know their kids friends, and Tony was clueless. 

“He’s really into Star Wars and we’ve watched all the movies together.” 

Tony wasn't prepared for Peter to stop talking so quickly and an awkward pause ensued. “Do you have any other friends?” That wasn't the most tactful way of phrasing the question, but surely he did have more friends. Tony had only really made friends in college. But Peter wasn't years younger than the rest of his classmates, surely he would have tons of friends. He was the best teenager the man had ever met. 

“Um… well, yeah. Um.. Ben and May, um… are at the school also, they’re my friends.”

“Are they in classes with you?”

“Well, um, no. We hang out at lunch and during breaks though.” How bad was it to lie to your dad? He wasn't even  _ lying _ really. Just omitting the truth a little. Tony had asked Peter if he had any more friends and the teen panicked. Sure, he talked to people in class and in his clubs, but no one that he seeked out away from those settings. So, he told Tony about Ben and May. Did he make it seem like they were children that  _ attended _ the school and not adults who  _ worked _ there? Yes. Was that lying? Maybe. But he didn't want Tony to think that his only kid was a loser with no friends. 

Luckily, Tony didn't push him any farther about friends. It was Peter’s turn to ask a question, and he couldn't think of anything. “Tell me about  _ your  _ friends.” 

Tony laughed. “Okay, kid. Unc-- um, Rhodey I met in college, we've been friends ever since. Happy works for Stark Industries, which makes for an interesting friendship. I would call the Avengers’ friends. And of course, Pepper.” The love of his life. “My turn. You said earlier that I helped make you interested in STEM,” Tony took a moment to phrase the question. “Can you tell me a little bit about what you meant?” 

Peter’s face flushed, why did he have to be reminded that he fanboyed over  _ his dad.  _ “Um, sure. When you… became-- or uh… when you made Iron Man… that was like, the first time I really heard about you… I guess. A lot of kids in my classes were, uh, talking about you, and stuff. 

“Robotics programs, and other STEM programs, used, um… you- or, uh, used Iron Man as a campaign tool… kind of. I thought the Iron Man suit was really cool, and, eventually, I joined the VEX IQ robotics team at my school. Uh, VEX is basically just a competitor for FIRST Robotics.” Tony would probably know what FIRST was. Hopefully. “Now I’m on the VRC team at my school. Um, that’s VEX Robotics Competition, it’s the highschool version of VEX IQ.” Peter resisted telling Tony about the Stark Expo Incident; he didn't need to seem like a super nerd. 

Tony was smiling. Peter had to be the smartest kid in the entire world. “How’s your team doing?” 

“Uh, my team did okay? We won states.”

“Wow kid! That’s way better than okay! Are you going to Nationals, or something?” 

“Yeah, um, there isn’t a Nationals, but Worlds is in April, I think. My team’s invited, but if- if you don't want me to go, I don’t have to! I’m not a driver.” 

“I don’t have a problem with you going, but we can talk more about it later. It’s your turn.”

Iron man questions were on the table, right? “Is it fun… to, uh, be Iron Man?” 

“It’s fun to fly around. Fighting bad guys, and saving people, is exciting, I guess, and definitely fulfilling, but I’m not sure I would call that part of the job ‘fun.’”

Peter nodded along solomely. 

While they were on the topic of heavier discussion, Tony asked about Peter’s past. “Have you always lived in New York?” 

“Yeah. Queens.” Peter wasn't sure how much Tony would appreciate talking about the Parkers, so he tread carefully. “I honestly couldn't imagine living anywhere else.” 

A pang of guilt stabbed through Tony’s chest, he’d forced Peter to move from his home in Queens, that he didn't want to leave, to Manhattan: a completely different world. The teen didn't give him much time to think about that though, asking his next question. 

“Why did you and Pepper want kids?” 

“We didn’t, you were an accident.” 

Peter had asked a semi innocent question and didn’t expect to end up talking about how he was conceived. “What?” He spluttered. 

“Yeah, one night-“

“No, no, no, no, no- I’m good, thank you! That’s- that’s as much as I need to know!”

Tony started laughing loudly, but not harshly. Peter hung his head in embarrassment, cheeks flushed, but Tony’s joy was contagious and he had to show a small smile. The laughter died down and his dad said, “Hey Hap, how’d the moving go?” Peter whipped his head up and around to find another man standing half in the room. 

oOo

Happy looked down at his phone again. Tony Stark, his boss, had texted him over an hour ago with instructions to get all the belongings out of a random kid’s room at an apartment in Queens. Police officers let him and the rest of the small moving crew in when he told them who he worked for.

The small room Happy stood in was definitely tidier than any kids room he had seen before. When he first looked in the room he thought he was in the wrong place, but the only other bedroom in the apartment was obviously an adult's room. 

“Everyone,” Happy addressed the five movers that came to help him, “When you put something in a box make sure you label where it came from, we don’t need another ‘missing pocket squares’ episode.”

The men and women did as they were told while Happy texted Tony.

oOo

Happy Hogan:  _ Do you want us to bring the furniture? _

Boss Man:  _ Nope _

Boss Man:  _ There’s a basket of clothes outside the room. If you forget it, I’ll make you my bodyguard again. _

Happy Hogan: _ Got it. _

oOo

“Someone grab the basket of clothes, my career depends on it.”

In less than an hour the room was packed up. There wasn’t a lot  _ to _ pack up. Each guy carried one or two boxes down to the moving van that blocked four parking spots in the front of the building (it may have been a bit overkill). Happy carried the laundry basket. 

They were instructed to put all the items away in the spare bedroom in the places that best matched where they had been originally in the kid’s room, and that’s what they’d do. Happy and the group of movers put all the boxes in the private elevator and headed up to the penthouse. 

They eventually made it to the correct floor and Happy told his team to start unpacking without him, he was going to find Tony. 

The head of security followed the sounds of a frantic exclamation followed by Tony’s laughter down the hall and into the living room. He found Tony, laughter dying down, but still there, sitting on the big couch with a kid.  _ Why was there a child?  _ The kid’s back was turned to Happy, but Tony noticed the appearance of his friend. 

Happy stood dumbfounded, half in the room until Tony welcoming him into the room, “Hey Hap, how’d the moving go?” As Tony spoke the kid swung around, and noticed the intruder. Happy’s boss stood up and walked around the table and the teen followed suit. The kid seemed to hide behind the man, ducking his head, his hands fidgeting rapidly. 

_ Why was this kid following Tony around? Why had Tony made him move stuff into the guest room? _ “You know Tony, when you said I would get a promotion, I didn't think I would become a glorified mover.” Happy paused and calculated whether or not he would be fired for asking his question. “What’s with the kid?” Pepper wouldn’t let Tony fire him.

The teen seemed to just get more nervous, if it was possible, at the question. He leaned back against the couch making himself even smaller. Happy, for his part, wasn’t trying to be less intimidating. He stood, wearing his usual black suit, black tie, and white button-down, arms crossed over his chest. 

“May I present to you,” Tony moved aside to no longer shield the kid, his arms gesturing toward the teen. “the heir of Stark Industries: Peter Edwin Stark.” 

“Tony that’s not funny.” Happy’s face darkened.  _ Was Tony drinking again? It wasn’t like the man to joke about that.  _

The man addressed dropped his arms, voice suddenly taking a much more serious tone. “Do you see me laughing?” 

Happy looked at his friend’s face closer and knew he couldn't be joking. He could see it in the slight misty-ness in Tony’s eyes, and the way he drifted closer to the teen in a protective way rarely expressed by the man. 

The kid,  _ Peter _ , put half excited, half nervous, jazz hands up and blurted, “Surprise!”

Happy didn’t know what to say. He stepped forward in a jerky movement and laid a hand on Peter’s shoulder to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. “Hi, uh, I’m Happy.”

Confusion grew on Peter’s face. “Uh, me too?” 

Tony barked out a laugh that made Happy jerk back slightly, his hand falling off the teen’s shoulder. “Happy’s his name not how he’s feeling.”

Peter’s cheeks went pink with embarrassment and he shrunk into himself again. “Oh. Oh, sorry.”

“It’s fine kid,” Happy muttered, still too much in a state of shock to properly comprehend Peter’s slip up. “I’m gonna go,” He pointed toward the hallway, “and let you guys stay here.” Looking at Tony he added, “Call me later ok? To explain all,” he moved his palm in a circle around Peter, “of this.” Happy practically ran for the guest bedroom, soon to be Peter’s, ready to take command of the unpacking. 

After the man had left Peter turned to his dad. “Can I ask one more question?”

“Not your turn, but I’ll let it slide.” 

“Why is my middle name Edwin?”  _ Who named their kid Edwin in the 21st century? _

Tony sat down on the back of the couch; it was going to be a long explanation. “When Pepper and I were coming up with baby names, we decided that we didn't want to use just any old random name. We wanted your name to--- damn this is really cheesy saying it out loud like this.” Tony clutched his wrist, his go to defence mechanism. “Would you believe me if I just told you we liked the name?” 

“Not really, no. But if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s- that’s okay.” 

Tony wiped a hand down his face. He’s been more open today than he had in a long time, he was already pushing his limits, but the father was about to go above and beyond. “It’s your name kid, I kind of have to tell you.” The man took a deep breath then rushed back into the story. “Your mother and I wanted your name to symbolize our unity as a couple, bla, bla. It was Pepper’s idea, she was hopped up on pregnancy hormones, it’s very mushy.” It was Pepper’s idea, but Tony had been fully onboard. 

Peter was smiling, trying not to laugh. The story (if it could be called that) wasn't very funny, Peter even thought it was sweet. No, it was Tony’s embarrassment while telling it that amused the teen. 

“Yeah, yeah kid. I know. Anyways,” Tony said, rolling his eyes. “We chose one name from Pepper’s family and one from mine. Peter was your great grandfather.” Tony took another deep breath. “Edwin Jarvis, was my butler growing up.” 

Peter tilted his head. 

Tony answered the un-asked question, “He basically raised me. Dear old Dad was- well, The Great Howard Stark wasn’t cut out to be a father.” 

Peter’s head shot up, which his dad was too far lost in thought to notice. What did that mean? Had Tony’s dad been like Richard? Is that what Tony meant? No, it couldn’t be. Tony was  _ Iron Man _ . Peter was just Peter. Peter was just a weak kid who was too sensitive. Whatever Howard did, he must have been worse than Richard for Tony to think he was a bad father. 

oOo

A while later, after a few more rounds of “Truth or Truth” and a handful of foosball games, it was late enough in the day that Peter could pick his backpack up from Ned’s. 

The black Audi R8 Spyder Tony drove that day was hands down the nicest car Peter had ever been in. It was a convertible, but they rode with the top up as to not draw  _ too _ much attention to the fact that Tony Stark was driving around with a teenager. Tony knew that they would have to tell the world of Peter’s reappearance, but he wanted to give them a weekend at least without press at their doorstep begging for an interview. 

Tony pulled up outside of Ned’s house in Queens. Further down the street most of the houses were in various states of disrepair, but the Leeds’ house was clean and well kept. 

Tony parked in front of the house, somehow finding a spot. The teen turned to open his door and saw that Tony was doing the same. “Um, Tony.”

His dad stopped getting out of the car and turned toward Peter as a sign for the kid to continue. 

“Um… I’m not sure it would be, um, a good idea for you to come, uh, to come to the door… with me?” 

“Why do you think that exactly?” Tony questioned. 

“Um, well, Ned is a uh… fan of yours… I guess, and would… freak out if  _ you _ showed up on, uh, on his porch.”

“I see our delima.” Tony thought for a minute debating how helicopter-y he should be. “Okay, I’ll make a deal, I won’t get out of the car as long as you don't go inside.” Tony wanted to be able to keep an eye on his son at all times. 

Peter agreed, opened the passenger side door and slid out. He walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell, only having to wait a few seconds before Ned opened the door. 

“Oh my gosh Peter! What the heck is going on!” Ned shouted, careful not to swear in earshot of his mom. 

A call of, “Inside voices,” could be heard from Mrs. Leeds inside the house. (Ned was smart enough not to remind her that technically he and Peter were outside.) 

“Hey Ned,” was all Peter offered. 

Sensing Peter’s discomfort Ned asked, “Do you want to come inside?”

“Can we just talk out here?”

“Sure.” Ned closed the door and led the way to the chairs on the porch for them to sit. Since his full attention wasn’t on Peter anymore he noticed the Audi parked outside his house. “Dude,” He addressed Peter, “look at that awesome car!”

Peter didn’t say anything just gave a jerky nod. 

Ned took a few more seconds to admire the car, oblivious to the man inside, before turning back to Peter. “Peter you have to tell me what’s going on.” The unusually serious tone forced Peter to reply honestly. 

“I found my birth parents.” 

Ned looked at his friend contemplatively. His silence prompted Peter to continue. 

“That’s why I got pulled out of the field trip. I’m moving in with them.” Peter looked at his friend. “My life just took a crazy turn and I don’t know what to do.” 

Ned tried his best to switch from “disgruntled loud friend mode” to “supportive less loud friend mode,” and thought for a second on the best way to phrase his question, “Is it your choice?”

“Is what my choice?”

“Moving in with your birth parents.”

“Turns out my adopted parents didn’t actually adopt me, they kidnapped me.”  _ It wasn’t his choice, but he wasn’t complaining.  _ Peter chuckled darkly, his life sounded like a soap opera. 

“Dude,” Ned whispered, “what is your life?” 

“I know.”

“Are you still going to Midtown?”

Peter hadn’t thought about that. “I think so, I have to check with Tony.”

“Is that your dad’s name?”

“Yeah.”

“Is he nice?” Ned wanted to make sure Peter was happy. 

A faint smile graced Peter’s face. “Yeah.”  _ So far.  _ The skeptical part of his brain added in helpfully. 

They sat in comfortable silence for a minute before Ned shot up out of his seat. “I almost forgot your backpack! Let me grab it.” He disappeared into his house then reappeared a second later bearing his friend’s school backpack. “Text me when you know whether you're coming back to school or if you need anything or just to talk, I’m available.”

“Thanks Ned, I really appreciate it.” Peter slung the backpack onto his back, said one last goodbye to his friend, and walked back to Tony’s Audi. 

As he opened the passenger’s side door he heard Ned yell, “Dude! That’s  _ your  _ car?” Peter just laughed and continued into the car. 

oOo

“Kid, what’s that?”

They were still in the car. Tony had his eyes on the road (mostly) and one hand on the steering wheel. Peter was half crouched over his backpack looking inside it for a pencil. The teen stopped rooting around in his bag to look at the object Tony was pointing at: a paper in the teen’s lap. 

“Oh, it’s just a worksheet I was supposed to do after the trip, but I don’t know any answers,” because he missed the trip, “so I just texted Ned.” Peter finally found a pencil with a tip and set it on top of his paper.

Most of the questions were simple ones that he could answer with his own knowledge, but others were harder, for example:  _ What are two ways that Stark Industries tries to make the workplace more inclusive?  _

“What kind of questions?” Tony glanced at his son. 

“Just some stuff that we should remember from the tour.” There’s no point in doing homework if he wouldn’t go back to school, so he popped the question, “Um… can I… will you be… Um, can I still go to Midtown-- like now… after, um-.”

Tony cut him off before the rambling continued, “That was the plan, if that’s okay with you. I mean I haven’t asked Pepper, but neither of us want to uproot your life. You know, more than we already have.”

“I do want to stay there,” Peter replied immediately. 

“Sounds good. And, on the topic of the tour homework,”  _ Who assigns homework for a field trip?  _ “You can ask me the questions,” Tony offered, “I do co-own the company. Though, if there’s anything too technical, Pepper would be the one to ask.”

“Nothing too technical, I think.” Peter paused. “Are you sure- is it- is it okay if you help me with- with my homework?” Richard Parker never liked Peter asking for help on homework, the teen was supposed to be smart enough to do it on his own. Wouldn’t Tony be the same? This was a man who graduated college when most people weren’t even graduating high school, wouldn’t he expect greatness from his son? 

“Kid, I’m the one that offered.” 

Peter smiled, maybe Tony would be different. 

oOo

Her phone rang in between meetings, Tony’s face coming up on the screen. 

“Hi hon, I don’t have very long, what’s up?” Pepper answered.

“ _ Pep, _ ” she could immediately tell something wasn't right by Tony’s voice. Had he been crying? “ _ They found him. _ ” 

“Tony are you okay? They found who?” Had one of Iron Man’s old enemies resurfaced?

“ _ They found Peter. They found our son. _ ” Pepper’s phone slipped out of her hand. Her son who’d been missing for 13 years was found. She scrambled to pick up her phone.

“ _ -still there? _ ” Tony’s voice said. 

“Yeah. Is he...” Pepper couldn't say ‘dead,’ luckily Tony knew what she meant. 

“ _ He’s alive, he’s fine. _ ” 

Pepper covered her mouth as a sob worked its way up her throat. “How-”

“ _ I don’t know all the specifics right now. I’ll tell you in person when you get back to the tower, okay? _ ” 

Tears ran down her face and she was glad the hallway she was in was deserted. “Okay. I’m leaving right now.” Meetings are boring anyways. 

oOo

An eight hour flight was too long. Almost the entire time Pepper paced back and forth, stressing out the flight crew. About an hour into her flight she convinced herself that somehow the news was all a lie and their son was still missing. Maybe Tony’s phone had been hacked or something. And someone had created an AI that matched his voice. The theory was far-fetched, but it seemed too un-real that her son had been found. 

When the plane touched down on the private airstrip outside of New York City, she could safely call her husband again, but she was too scared to. If this was all a lie, or a misunderstanding, or something, she wanted to live in a reality with her son back for as long as possible. 

Her driver, Megan, took her back to the tower, neither speaking. Pepper anxiously fiddled with the cuffs of her white blouse. She opened the folder on her phone with the pictures of baby Peter. There were a lot of them. Tony and she had often taken hour long videos of Peter sleeping because he was so adorable. Every time the infant made a new noise they took a video. They’d spent hours trying to get him to crawl, but all he succeeded in doing was a weird scooch along the floor that kind of looked like an army crawl. James Rhodes, or “Uncle Rhodey,” always said that Peter would follow in his footsteps and join the military. 

Pepper was so engrossed with a picture of Peter sleeping on Tony’s chest that she almost didn't notice when the car pulled up outside the private elevator in the parking garage. 

“Thank you,” she practically whispered to her driver. She got out of the car, completely forgetting her luggage. Megan grabbed the suitcase from the trunk and made sure it got on the elevator with Pepper. 

As soon as Pepper stepped in with her bags, the elevator doors closed and it shot up, she didn't even have to ask F.R.I.D.A.Y. Her ears popped as the floors progressed, finally stopping at her and Tony’s penthouse. 

She walked out, vaguely remembering to grab her bag, but abandoning it as soon as it was clear of the elevator doors. Pepper heard light laughter that didn’t belong to her husband, and her steps quickened. The kitchen of the penthouse was behind a wall that she couldn’t see from the hallway she was in, but when she got around the corner she saw the most beautiful sight she had ever laid eyes on. 

Tony sat across from Peter, their  _ son _ , at the kitchen island, an almost empty pizza box in between them; both had smiles on their faces. 

The pair looked up when Pepper walked in. Tony stood up, Peter followed. 

Tony gave her the best smile in the world, the kind the press would never see, and said, “Hi Pep.” 

In the state of California after five years of someone being missing the family could file for them to be qualified as dead in absentia. Tony and Pepper didn't do that, they couldn't. It was giving up, they weren't willing to give up. Their decision had finally paid off. 

Pepper rushed past her husband and straight to her son, and wrapped her arms around him in a crushing hung. She was crying tears of joy. “I’m so sorry baby. We’ll never lose you again.” She promised without the power to keep that promise. 

Peter looked alarmed by the tearful woman holding him. Luckily she let him out of the crushing hug quickly. She switched positions, holding him by his shoulders at arms-lengths, looking him up and down. 

“Have you ever seen the movie _Homeward_ _Bound?_ I'm that one dog. Not the one that fell in the hole, the other one.” 

Tony cringed. “It might be a little too soon for jokes kid.”  _ It will always be too soon.  _

The woman took a seat next to her husband who gave her a quick kiss in greeting. Then she asked, “how… how did you find him?” 

Peter tilted his head, he knew most of the details, but still wondered how they got his finger print. 

“The Baby Bear Protocol,” Tony answered. 

That sounded familiar to Pepper and very familiar to Peter, but she couldn’t quite place it, her husband had so many protocols. “Care to elaborate?” 

“Do you remember the turkey-hand-thing Rhodey made with him on Thanksgiving? When we were out of baby paint so they used your ink pad?” Peter’s hands had been blue for days later. 

She nodded. Peter smiled, checking for ink he knew wasn't there. 

“After he went missing I scanned the fingerprints from the hand-turkey and put them into the Stark Industries system. Just in case. If anyone’s prints ever matched the ones in the system it would trigger the Baby Bear Protocol.” Tony’s attention switched to his son. “That’s what happened today when you came into Stark Industries on a school tour.” 

Pepper wanted to ask more questions, but thought better of it while Peter was still in the room. “I’m just so happy you’re home.” She smiled at her son. 

Peter smiled back, somewhat less enthusiastically, and ducked his head bashfully. 

The family melted into a comfortable silence, only interrupted by the quiet munching of pizza. 

Eventually, Pepper asked another question, “How are you doing with all this Peter?” 

That was a good question. One that hadn't been posed to the teen yet. Truthfully he didn't know how he was feeling. Overwhelmed? Yes, but there were so many other emotions mixed in that he didn't even know half of them. Instead of voicing any of that out loud, he said the lie everyone tells, “I’m fine.” 

Pepper looked at him incredulously. “It’s okay if you’re not. Having your life change can be hard, no matter what the change is.”

A jerky nod was the only response he gave. 

oOo

After the pizza had disappeared Peter escaped to his room, giving Tony and Pepper some time to talk. Tears that she’d been holding back all dinner welled up in Pepper’s eyes as she looked over at her husband. She wasn't crying because she was sad, but they weren’t tears of joy either. 

Tony just scooched his chair closer to her and put an arm around her. “I know,” he whispered. 

Pepper tried to wipe the tears away; she’d cried enough for one day. She cleared her throat. “I didn’t want to ask in front of him, do we know who took him?”

Tony took his phone out of his pocket with his free hand and pulled up a picture of two people. It looked like it could be a social media profile or something similar. The couple wore shirts of the same color. They looked slightly older than Pepper and Tony. “Meet Mary and Richard Parker. They were arrested earlier today. The FBI found forged adoption papers from December 2002, right around when Peter went missing.” 

Tony spoke again, “I’ve been in touch with the agent leading the case and she said that Mrs. Parker confessed to the kidnapping. They’ll send us dates for the court case soon.”

“Why did they take our baby?” Pepper asked, voice cracking.

“I don’t know.” Tony leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “We have him back now.” 

oOo

Peter was alone for the first time since everything had happened. He sat on the couch in his room, the TV playing a random game show that Peter wasn't paying attention to. He couldn't pay attention, he was trying to process everything that had just happened to him. 

He didn’t know how to feel about Richard and Mary. He knew he should be mad at them, but they’d  _ raised _ him. He owed them something, right? At the same time, they’d taken him from parents who loved him  _ and _ broken the law. They’d never been the easiest parents to have, and he wondered if he would have been happier with the Starks. But then he felt ungrateful and selfish for thinking that of the people who raised him, and his thoughts just kind of spiraled downward from there. 

And just to add to the overwhelmingness of it all Peter had met a lot of new people during the day. He’d even met F.R.I.D.A.Y. the artificial intelligence that ran everything in the tower. 

He hasn’t talked to Tony and Pepper about whether the news of his return would be shared with the press. It probably would be, considering how fixated the press was on the private lives of the Starks. Unfortunately for the teen, Peter didn’t want to be famous. He already got embarrassed when he messed up in front of his classmates, he didn’t want to mess up with the whole nation watching. 

A knock at the door to his room snapped him out of his thoughts. 

“Come in.” He spoke loud enough to be heard.

“Hey Peter, I just came to say goodnight.” Pepper stood in the doorway to his room. “I’m going to bed. Dad’s going to be up for a while longer.” Apparently Pepper hadn't been read in on the fact that Peter wasn't calling Tony ‘Dad.’ “If you need anything, feel free to ask.” 

“Okay, goodnight.” 

“Goodnight. Love you.” Pepper closed the door without giving Peter a chance to respond, which was good because he wouldn’t have known what to say. How do you say ‘I love you’ to someone you’ve just met? 

Peter turned back around on the couch.  _ Where does Tony Stark hang out in his tower when his wife’s gone to bed?  _

oOo

Tony spun around in his desk chair down in the shop. He had two main work spaces in the tower: a lab on the floor below his penthouse that was shared with Bruce Banner when he was on earth, and the car shop. The car shop was on the floor that led out to the Avengers’ private level of the car garage, which was also level to the street. 

It wasn't a guarantee which projects he would choose to tinker on at any given moment. This time he chose a car to help him clear his head. Unfortunately, he still couldn't stop thinking. 

There were a lot of people he had to call. Most of all he had to call Rhodey. James Rhodes, Peter’s god-father and (in every way but blood) uncle. They had been as close as brothers since meeting at MIT together in freshman year. Rhodey was devastated when Peter went missing all those years ago. 

Eventually Tony would have to tell the rest of the Avengers also. He wasn't sure why, but the thought of telling the team about his son made anxiety bubble up in his chest. Maybe it was because none of them had known Peter before the kidnapping. They weren't there when his baby had gone missing. Maybe he worried that they didn't see him as a paternal guy, so they wouldn't think he was a good father. 

Among the many new worries that had popped up since Peter got back was the thought of the press finding out. He’d never wanted Peter to grow up in the spotlight. Tony knew how terrible that life truly was, but reporters are vultures and would definitely find out about his son’s return soon. 

Tony picked his phone up and clicked on Rhodey’s number. The phone rang twice before his friend picked up. 

“ _ Tones, I’m driving back from DC right now, _ ” said Rhodey’s terse voice through the speakers. 

“What did the Avengers do this time Platypus?” Rhodey didn't have time off for another two weeks, so he shouldn't be coming to visit just yet.

“ _ I think you know why I’m coming. _ ” Rhodey sounded sad.

“You expect so much from me, Dearest Rhodey,” he teased, “but I think whatever that is can wait I have something important to tell you!” The father’s voice was light and cheerful in contrast to Rhodey’s melancholy one. 

“ _ Have you been drinking? _ ”

“No. Why would you ask that?” That was an absurd question, he’d been sober for almost six years. 

“ _ Tones… I saw the news, _ ” his voice trailed off as if Tony was supposed to know what this meant. 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. pull up the top trending story.” A hologram image of new articles popped up in front of him. 

The most prominent one to him was titled:  _ Stark Heir’s Kidnappers Found?  _ The article went on:  _ Sources inside the FBI disclosed that earlier today two people were arrested under suspicion of the kidnapping of Peter Stark. Our contact could not say whether the young Stark was also found or what condition he was in, but after thirteen years his chances of recovery are very low.  _

The article continued on, but Tony couldn't read anymore. The press found out sooner rather than later. Someone would be fired, the FBI wasn't supposed to say anything yet. 

A slight cough from Rhodey snapped Tony out of his contemplation. 

“ _ I’m sorry Tones. _ ” 

“No. No. Don't be sorry, he’s not dead, he’s fine.” 

“ _ What? _ ” A screech of tires was heard from the speaker of the phone. 

“Yeah. He’s fine, totally fine.” Tony was more reminding himself than Rhodey at that point. 

“ _ Is he at the tower? _ ” 

“Yup. That’s what I was going to tell you before I was so rudely interrupted.”

“ _ ‘Kay Tony, try to keep the sass level to a minimum, I’m still kind of in shock here. _ ”

“What time will you get to the tower?”

“ _ I’ll be there in less than an hour. _ ”

“Perfect, your nephew will be in the shop, feel free to join us.”

“ _ See you soon Tones. _ ” The call cut out.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., can you ask Peter if he wants to join me in the shop?” It was time for his first mechanics lesson.

“Sure thing Boss,” the voice in the ceiling responded. 

After a few seconds the AI spoke again, “Mini Boss will be down to join you in a minute Boss.” 

oOo

Rhodey walked through the bay doors leading to the car shop. It was washed in warm lighting, loud music played over the speakers. Rhodes passed by the big tool chests to where two pairs of legs poked out from underneath a sporty, old blue car. 

“Do you remember what this is?” Tony asked his son from underneath the car.

“The brake line?” A younger voice spoke. 

“Ding ding ding!” Tony imitated the sound of a game show bell. 

Rhodey cleared his throat, and his best friend slid the car creeper that he was lying on back out from under the car. 

“Rhodey!” Tony exclaimed while getting to his feet. 

Peter followed his dad’s example, rolling out from under the car and stood up, somewhat awkwardly, next to his dad. 

“Rhodey this is Peter. Peter, Rhodey.” The smile on Tony’s face was bigger than Rhodey had seen it in years. 

Rhodey held out his hand to Peter. He didn't want to scare the kid by pulling him into a hug right after meeting him. 

Peter wiped his car-greasy hands off on a wash rag before shaking Rhodey’s hand. 

“Hi Peter.” Rhodey smiled. “It’s good to see you again.” 

“Hi Mr. Colonel Rhodes Sir.” Peter’s face flushed red as he realized what he said. His gaze dropped to the floor.

“Just Rhodey,” Rhodey chuckled. 

The teen nodded, embarrassed. “Right, yeah, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Rhodey assured him. He glanced up at Tony who had an amused look on his face. 

Tony noticed Peter yawning, then noticed the time displayed by the clock. It was past twelve. “Alright Rhodes, it’s past Peter’s bedtime.” Peter looked affronted, but didn't argue, he just coughed slightly. “You can crash in one of the spare bedrooms on the shared floor.” 

“Let me grab my bags.” 

Tony was the only one talking in the elevator. Peter was too tired (he’d had a long day), Rhodey was too stunned. The father rambled on to Peter about something to do with the car they had been working on. It looked, to Rhodey, that the kid wasn't processing any of Tony’s words. The teen just nodded along, the only sounds he made were the couple coughs that escaped. The small group traveled up to the Stark’s floor where Peter and Tony got out saying their goodnights, then Rhodey went by himself to the Avenger’s shared floor. 

The comunal floor held a kitchen, with an industrial size stove top (for group meals), a living room with too many couches, and game tables. The floor also held spare bedrooms, which was where Rhodey was headed. 

Unfortunately, he was stopped on his way to the awaiting bed by the entire Avengers team (at least those on Earth). The team had to be at the tower for the meeting earlier that day, but all of them hanging out together in the middle of the night was unusual. Even Clint was still at the tower, usually he went back to his family quickly after meetings. 

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator he was bombarded with questions. 

“Is Tony okay?”

“Do the police know what happened?” 

“Is Pepper back?”

“How’s Tony doing?”

“Was that article real?” 

“Are you okay?”

“Guys! I can't explain if you don't give me a chance,” Rhodes shouted over the chaos.

Once the team had quieted down he started, “Okay, first things first, Peter’s not dead.”

This time only Clint spoke, “What happened?”

Rhodes sighed. “I honestly don’t really know, you should ask Tony tomorrow. Peter’s fine though, I got to meet him like five minutes ago. Excuse me because I need to go to sleep.” 

The team didn’t seem wholly satisfied with his answers, but they let him pass. 

oOo 

Peter noticed the tightening in his chest a few minutes before Rhodey came. As much as he wanted to work more on the car, and talk more to Mr. Rhodey, he was glad they left the workshop when they did. It was getting hard to hide his asthma as they went up the elevator. Tony wished him good night and he tried to keep his voice sounding normal in his response. 

Back in his room, he sat on the side of his bed, one hand to his chest, the other clutching the blue rescue inhaler. His asthma attacks were very responsive to treatment, and he’d only gone to the hospital three times because of it. The first time when he was diagnosed with asthma. 

“Mini Boss are you in need of assistance?” F.R.I.D.A.Y. asked from the ceiling. 

“No, I’m alright,” he forced out between wheezes. Peter took another couple puffs from his inhaler. The doctor had also prescribed a daily medication, but Richard thought that was pointless. Peter disagreed, but the teen wasn’t paying the bills, so he didn’t take daily medication. If that meant he used his blue inhaler more than was strictly suggested, Richard didn’t care. 

Breathing came easier to the teen after a little while. That was good because his inhaler felt close to empty. He should tell his parents that his inhaler was almost empty. He really should. But a voice in the back of his mind cautioned him otherwise. He couldn’t tell Tony Stark that he had asthma. Iron Man wouldn’t like to hear that his own son couldn’t even breath. No, he’d keep it quiet, he wouldn’t say anything. That definitely wouldn’t become a problem down the road. Of course he knew this was a bad decision, but he wanted his new parents to be proud of him for a little while. 

Peter put the argument in his brain to rest as he brushed his teeth with the new toothbrush, took out his contacts and put them back in their case, put on comfier clothes, and went to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five things:  
> 1) Again, for those who missed it at the top: The view Peter holds about his own self worth DO NOT reflect my own view.  
> 2) Can anyone find the Spider-Man easter egg?  
> 3) I recognize that Tony is a little OOC, he’s a hard character to write in general, but also I’m trying to make him more fatherly… I guess. When he interacts with more people hopefully I can make him seem more like Tony Stark™.  
> 4) PETER WILL STILL DO ACADEMIC DECATHLON! I PROMISE! I explained so much about the robotics thing because most people don't just “do robotics” they do it for a team, and I know a lot about VEX, so I choose to have Peter on a VEX team.  
> 5) Hey guys. You may have guessed this, but later in the story Peter will go to the hospital because of his asthma. I do not have asthma, and watching vlogs and videos made by hospitals only gets a person so far. If anyone has experience with asthma-prompted hospital visits I would love to ask you a few questions. If you're not comfortable sharing, don’t feel forced, I don't want anyone to do anything they’re uncomfortable with. If you feel comfortable sharing please PM me on FanFiction.net, or message me on Tumblr (both @TheWeirdPersonNextDoor). 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who’s left Kudos, bookmarked or reviewed, you all made me so happy:) Thanks so much for reading! 
> 
> Stay safe,  
> Jewell


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets the Avengers! And a press conference happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you that are interested, I’m going to be publishing chapters once a month. That may speed up in the summer, but don't count on it. THANKS SO MUCH to all the all the people who wrote and answered my questions about asthma!

Chapter 3

"We'll have to say something to the press."

Tony looked up from the french toast he was cooking on the countertop griddle. Pepper sat in front of him at the counter on a barstool. She was reading news articles speculating about Peter and his livelihood. The media relations team at Stark Industries had left the parents alone for now, but Tony knew it wouldn't be too long before they were asked for a statement. "I don't see why. We have no obligation to let the world know about our personal lives."

The woman sighed. "Tony…"

Rationally the billionaire knew that they couldn't keep Peter protected from the media forever, and the longer they didn't speak about it the worse the gossip would get. "Okay." He gave in. "Let's call a press conference for later today."

"Do you think Peter should be there?"

Tony's face crinkled in disgust. "No, it should just be you and me." He wanted to keep their son from the cameras for as long as he could.

"Okay. How does 11:30 this morning sound? Get it done with and out of the way."

Tony sighed. "Sure."

"Great. I'll prepare something for us to say."

The comfortable silence between the couple was broken by the quiet sound of socked feet on hardwood floors. Peter came around the corner of the hall into the kitchen wearing jeans and a tee-shirt. Tony hoped he hadn't slept in that.

"Good morning Peter," Pepper greeted.

"Morning." Peter turned to his dad and noticed the Iron Man apron he wore. (Tony Stark cooks?) "I like the outfit." That came out a little snarkier than he meant and he panicked for a second.

Luckily, his dad just laughed. "French toast, kid?" He asked when Peter sat down at the counter.

The kid opened his mouth to answer, but F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupted, "Bird Brain and Captain Dinner Plate are requesting access to your floor."

Tony rolled his eyes. "They can come."

Whoever those people were, his parents probably wanted to talk to them privately. "I can go back to my room if you want."

"No." Pepper stated. "You're fine, honey."

Tony flipped the French toast on the griddle as the elevator dinged, alerting the family to the guests' entry.

Peter's foot taped up and down with anxiety as two men appeared from the hall. Captain America and Hawkeye stood awkwardly half in the room looking at the family.

"Hey Tony, Pepper. How's it going?" Mr. America ignored the elephant in the room and greeted the other Avenger.

"Doing good Steve, do you need anything?" Pepper inquired.

"That was a nice way of saying: why are you on our floor at eight AM on a Saturday?" Tony was not quite as polite as his wife.

"Aw, Tony can't a friend just visit? Look, you even have food for us." Hawkeye was looking at the fresh French toast Tony had just removed from the griddle.

"Nope, not for you. You're an adult, make your own food." Tony put one slice on the plates for Pepper and him and two slices on Peter's plate.

The woman grabbed her plate and pushed Peter's closer to him, looking disapprovingly at her husband, but she didn't offer their two guests any food.

"Okay, you got us," Hawkeye admitted, "we're here to meet the kid."

"And that couldn't wait till later in the day?" Tony just wanted a family breakfast untainted from well-meaning, annoying friends.

"I'm heading back to the farm this morning, and Steve just wanted to tag along."

"Fine." Tony's expression softened when he turned to Peter. "Peter, this is Steve and Clint," he gestured toward the visitors and they waved, "and vice versa." Tony went around the counter to join his family on the bar stools.

"Nice to meet you, son." Steve stepped forward and held out his hand for Peter to shake. The teen stood, quickly wiped his hand on his pants, and shook Mr. America's hand.

"Nice to-- to meet you, um, sir." Peter stumbled over his words, not quite making eye contact with the taller man.

Clint stepped forward next, holding out a fist bump which Peter reciprocated. "Hi Peter! I'm Clint, I'm cool, no matter what the others say."

Tony scoffed and Pepper laughed. Peter gave a half smile as he sat back down, not sure how to respond, and trying not to be rude to all parties.

"This is really early for a teenager on a Saturday." Clint quipped.

"I-I usually get up around this, this time," the kid defended himself needlessly.

"An early riser?" The archer went on without giving Peter a chance to reply, "You're in good company, Steve here wakes up at the crack of dawn to run in circles every morning."

"Eight's not exactly the crack of dawn," Peter said quietly looking at his socks. One was a slightly lighter shade of grey than the other.

"That's fair, but waking up at eight is the gateway drug to waking up at 4:30."

"Alright Clint, it's too early to be corrupting my son. We don't need a runner in the family."

Clint quieted down, leaving room for his companion to ask, "where'd you grow up, son?"

"Queens."

"Sounds like it." Steve gestures to himself. "Brooklyn."

The Queens accent that the kid carried was faint, but enough to be a constant reminder that Tony and Pepper didn't get to raise him. "You got to meet the kid, now get lost you two. Let us finish our breakfast in peace."

They did leave eventually, after excessive goodbyes, and Peter's French toast became cold.

"Sorry about that; they're excitable," Pepper stated, smiling.

"It's fine." Peter poured maple syrup on his French toast.

"Do you want anything else, kid? We have all kinds of fruit. Even strawberries which aren't usually allowed in the kitchen, but we didn't know what you liked-"

"I'm allergic to strawberries." Peter murmured.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. don't let me buy strawberries ever again."

"You've asked me to do this before, would you like it to be permanent this time?" Peter saw his mom hide a smirk.

oOo

The conversation shifted to include only his parents. Peter didn't pay attention until his name was called.

Both parents' eyes were on him when he looked up.

"Uh sorry, I, uh, zoned out?"

Pepper spoke with a light smile, "That's fine honey. I was just saying: Tony and I are giving a press conference later today because the news of your," She paused here to think of the wording, "return was leaked to the press. We want to stop rumors and miss information spreading too much."

"Do you want me to be there?"

Tony answered, "No kid. It'll just be Pepper and me."

Peter nodded. Of course they didn't want him there. He could barely talk to Mr. America, let alone an audience of people.

"It's at 11:30 today. We'll call Rhodey to hangout with you while we're there. It shouldn't take too long, though."

Why were they making Rhodey supervise him? What did they think Peter would do? Trash the penthouse?

The trio lapsed into silence. Peter finished his French Toast not a minute later and excused himself to go work on homework.

Pepper watched him go with a pensive expression. "Do you think he's okay?"

"No," Tony answered, "but he'll get there."

oOo

Peter lost track of time listening to his study playlist and working on calculus homework. The teacher was so kind and thought that a weekend was the perfect time to assign an extra heavy workload. She didn't consider that Peter had a lot of stuff happening in his life and didn't really want to worry about math right then.

There was a rhythmic knocking on the door that was probably supposed to be some sort of song.

"It's open," Peter called. Tony popped his head in the door. The bedhead previously styling the man's hair had been tamed. He wore a suit that definitely cost more than Midtown's tuition.

"Hey kid, Pep and I are heading down to the press conference. Rhodey should be down any second. Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm good."

"Okay. Tell someone if that changes. See you in a little bit."

"See you."

The door shut, and Peter waited long enough for his parents to get in the elevator before asking: "F.R.I.D.A.Y. can you play the press conference on my TV?"

"I'm not sure your parents would like that, Mini Boss."

"I'm gonna see it one way or another, I just don't want to strain my eyes watching the YouTube live stream on my phone."

"Very well."

His TV sprang to life, a reporter talking to a camera. "The conference will start soon."

Peter flopped down on his couch right before there was a knock on his door for the second time that day.

"Come in!"

Rhodey opened the door. "Good morning Peter, are you watching the press conference?"

"Yeah."

  
"Mind if I join you?"

Could he not even be trusted to be in his own room? "Sure."

Rhodey made his way over to the couch, sitting down, somewhat awkwardly, on the end opposite to Peter.

"I should have got some popcorn for this," Rhodes quipped.

The woman on screen talked for a few more minutes until the camera turned to the front of the room and Pepper and Tony walked out on stage. The crowd of reporters did the unexpected and quieted down, showing some respect towards the, in their minds, grieving parents. The parents weren't actually grieving, at least not in the way the room full of people thought.

"Hey guys, it's been a crazy couple of days," Tony tried to joke, but only got pity laughs in response. "We're here to address the news that was leaked late last night saying our son's alleged kidnappers were arrested yesterday. Those rumors are true."

More cameras flashed and a quiet murmuring spread through the crowd.

Now Pepper spoke, "We also want to stop the speculations about Peter's current well being." more murmuring, "Contrary to popular belief Peter is alive and well-" She could finish her statement due to the onslaught of sound from the reporters.

Trying to talk over them would be pointless, so she waited.

Finally, she was able to finish, "We got him back yesterday and he is living with us. We'll be taking questions now."

"I don't know who thought taking questions at a press conference like this was a good idea," Rhodey said mostly to himself. Peter smiled. It did seem like a bad idea.

Tony pointed to a young reporter near the front.

"Hi, Jason from Vogue, how was Peter found?"

"He was identified by the security system here at Stark Industries and a DNA test was performed to confirm his identity," Pepper replied.

Peter was very thankful that they kept that vague. His classmates would've been able to figure out who he was if they went into more detail.

She pointed at the next person. "Maya, The New York Times, do you know what kind of conditions Peter was kept in?"

Rhodey glanced at Peter at that. He had the same question. The kid looked fine, but looks could be deceiving.

Pepper answered, "We are not going to comment on that at the moment."

The next reporter was pointed out. "Dakota from Vanity Fair, Did Peter know he was your son?"

The boy in question just chuckled.

"Not as far as we're aware," Pepper replied again. She was better at being polite, so they agreed ahead of time that she would answer most of the questions.

"Maddison from The Sun, How is Peter dealing with this?"

"As well as can be expected of a teenager who's just had their life flipped upside down," Tony answered with more snark than necessary.

That about sums it up, Peter thought.

"Travis, Daily Bugle, Will Peter still take over Stark Industries?"

Wait, what? He wasn't ready to run a company.

Tony leaned farther over the podium, eyes narrowing. He scoffed, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you didn't get to raise him, will he still be the heir to the Stark fortune?"

"What does raising him have to do with anything?" Pepper put a hand on her husband's arm in a vain attempt to calm him. "Why even ask such an inane question-"

Pepper cut him off, "Alright, that seems like a good place to stop, thank you all for coming." She had to drag Tony off the stage.

Rhodey turned to the teen, "That actually went a lot better than I expected." Peter didn't quite react to the joke fast enough, mind still reeling from the fact that people expected him to run a multibillion-dollar company.

oOo

It was around lunchtime on the common floor at the Avengers Tower. Captain America was in the kitchen area making a sandwich. Sam sat at the counter, snacking on vegetables and hummus. Nathasha was in the living area reading a paperback. Wanda and Vision had left for the Compound earlier that morning for a weekend get-away after being assured by Steve that Peter and the rest of the Starks were fine. The trip had been planned for a while and no one expected them to skip it.

The press conference had been playing on the large TV in the background until it ended a few minutes ago. Some of the team's questions were answered, but many still remained. Luckily the subject in question appeared when the elevator door dinged and the Starks (and Rhodey) stepped out.

"Good job not yelling at anyone," Sam teased.

"It was just loud talking, and that guy deserved it," Tony defended himself while leading the group over to the kitchen counter. Tony and Pepper had changed out of their formal wear so they matched the rest of the people in the room in lazy Saturday attire. "What would you like to eat, kid?"

"Oh- uh… I'm fine with whatever," Peter replied, standing awkwardly by the stools, not sure if he should sit down. Pepper and Rhodey hadn't, should he?

"Grilled cheese? I make the best grilled cheese."

"Sure." Tony went around the counter and started working on the food.

Captain Am- Steve waved with the hand not holding his sandwich. "Hi Peter!"

"Hi," Peter smiled bashfully and waved back.

Pepper set a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Peter, let me introduce you to the rest of the group," She led him forward barely a step closer to the man sitting at the counter. "This is Sam Wilson, he cheats at Uno."

"That was one time," he lied indignantly. "Hi Peter, it's nice to meet you. Do you want to play Uno?"

Peter laughed, "I think I'll hold off for now. It's nice to meet you too Mr. Wilson."

The man addressed sputtered, "Mr. Wilson! Nonono I'm not a middle school teacher, call me Sam."

Peter looked at the ground, "Right- yeah- okay- sorry."

"It's cool, kid."

Pepper then led him a few steps away from the kitchen. Peter heard Rhodey greet Sam and Steve from behind him. The woman lounging on one of the couches looked up and waved. Was that Black Widow?

"That's Natasha. Natasha, Peter," Pepper introduced the pair.

"Hi Peter."

Peter waved nervously, "Hi, uh… Natasha, nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Natasha smiled kindly.

Pepper addressed Peter again, "The only other people living here are Vision and Wanda, and they're upstate right now. They can meet you later."

That was… a lot of people. "Okay."

"Grilled cheese is up!" Tony's words saved him from having to talk any longer to possibly a spy? Was she Black Widow?

Peter scurried back over to the counter and retrieved his grilled cheese.

"What school do you go to Pete?" Captain America asked.

Peter swallowed his bite of grilled cheese quickly, "Uh, I go to Midtown Tech."

Sam popped his head up grinning mischievously. "Do they still show the PSAs?"

Cap dropped his head into his hands and Peter nodded blushing.

Rhodey came into the conversation, "What PSAs?"

Sam laughed evilly and Steve groaned.

oOo

Quite a few YouTube videos and many embarrassing moments for Steve later, Sam asked, "Pete, do you know how to play Texas Hold'em?"

Peter shook his head.

"No. Wilson you are not-" but Tony got cut off.

"Do you want to learn?"

"Uhh…" Peter looked at Tony for approval.

"You're not teaching my son how to gamble. End of discussion."

"I wasn't suggesting using real money, Stark, I don't have those kinds of funds," Sam clarified.

Tony made eye contact with Pepper, expecting support on this issue, but she just shrugged.

Natasha ambled over from the kitchen where she just finished lunch, "I'm in on for a game of poker."

"Same," Rhodey said from the other end of the couch.

The group looked to Peter, and he faltered. He didn't want to disappoint the Avengers, but he couldn't go against his dad's wishes, could he? If Tony didn't want him to play poker, he probably shouldn't challenge that. Realizing everyone was still waiting for a reply he offered, "I don't, uh, have to play if-if you guys still, um, still want to." He glanced at Tony and down at his hands.

Pepper wasn't going to blatantly counter Tony's parenting decision in a public setting like this (likewise he wouldn't challenge her either, they were a team), but she put an arm on his elbow which he knew to mean 'Pick your battles.' Tony looked at Peter, shifting nervously in his seat, occasionally glancing at Tony.

Tony sighed. "Okay, you can play." A small cheer from Sam and a smile from Nat was all he got for compromising.

oOo

Peter thought he would be good at poker, it was only math and statistics. Just weighing the odds and finding the best course of action, right?

Wrong.

Peter couldn't bluff for the life of him. Turns out knowing, statistically, how good your cards are doesn't really matter when your opponents also know your odds just based on your facial expressions. Who knew? Peter beat Steve. Captain America wasn't a great liar either. He also beat Sam, but that was because the man bluffed and went all in, but Natasha saw through it. Tony was the one to take all of Peter's final chips and he gave a small bit of wisdom: "That's why you don't gamble, kid. An older wiser man will take all your money."

Nat scoffed, "Man?"

"Sorry, scratch that, Nathasha will take all your money."

Tony was right, to no one's surprise, Natasha won in the end. The order of losers went like this: Steve in dead last, Sam, Peter, Pepper, Tony, Rhodey, and Nat as the winner.

After the game, when most of the rest of the people in the room were chatting in the living area, Peter's phone buzzed twice, one text right after another.

oOo

Ben Fitzpatrick: Hey Pete, just wanted to check and make sure we were on the same page about coming over today? Everything alright?

May Fitzpatrick: Are you dead in an alleyway:)

oOo

In all the craziness of the weekend, Peter forgot that he had plans to meet with Ben and May for lunch.

oOo

Peter Parker: I'm so sorry! Something popped up and I won't be able to make it this week

Peter Parker: I'll tell u abt it on Monday

Peter Parker: Everything's alright, I'm not dead or in an alley:)

Ben Fitzpatrick: All good, tell us if you need anything.

May Fitzpatrick: Don't go near any alleys

oOo

Natasha approached Peter. "You look down when you lie."

"Sorry, what?" Peter was taken aback.

"You look down, you avoid eye contact when you lie. If you work on that you could get better at poker."

"I'm not sure Tony would appreciate you teaching me how to lie."

"Tony doesn't need to know."

oOo

After hanging out with the Avengers for a while, Peter was allowed to escape to his room and work on homework. Peter was almost done with his Calc when a knock at his door interrupted again.

"Come in," Peter called.

Tony opened the door. "Hey kid, Pepper and I want to talk to you about something. Can you take a break from the homework?"

That sounded ominous. "Okay."

The teen was led to the living room where Pepper was already sitting. The boys joined her on the couch.

"Peter, now that you're known to be the son of famous," Tony spat the word as if it were a curse, "people, some things are gonna change in your life."

The teen suspected he wouldn't like most of those changes very much. Would they send him to manners school (was that a thing?) so he would know how to behave at big dinners and parties? Would he be taught how to speak to the press and reporters? Oh no, would he have to do interviews?

Tony went on, "I know this might be hard to believe, but some people might want to kidnap you," Pepper swatted his arm for the thoughtless joke, which almost made Peter flinch. Mary never would have corrected her husband in such a way, or any way, for that matter. May would tease Ben, but it felt different coming from parental figures. "To stop that from happening," 'again' went unsaid. Making a sarcastic joke was easier than addressing the reality of the situation. "We are going to give you some extra security."

"What will… 'extra security'... look like?" He's lived in New York his whole life- or most of his life, he had some street smarts. He didn't need a bodyguard following him everywhere.

Pepper spoke up, not trusting her husband to take this issue seriously anymore. "We wanted to put a security team on standby outside your school when you're there. And we'd like to have someone with you if you go anywhere else."

"No one knows what I look like yet, right?"

"Well, yeah, for now. But we don't know when that could change."

"So, are guards just gonna, like, follow me around?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Won't that get really annoying going to school every day? You'll have to pay for more subway cards and stuff." Now Peter was just grasping at straws trying to come up with any excuse not to need bodyguards.

Tony smiled. "Kid, we would drive you to and from school."

"I don't need to be driven to school." He'd never needed a chauffeur to get to school before. "And the school has security," he mentioned, thinking of Ben, one of the guards at the school. That man would do anything to keep the kids safe.

Pepper tried to defuse the situation, "No you don't, but it will help put Tony and my fears to rest."

Peter nodded, not exactly happy about the situation. "Will they follow me around in school?"

"No, I was thinking of it, but Pep talked me down. They'll stay outside during the day, but we'll give you this." He picked up a small black box Peter hadn't noticed before, and handed it to the teen.

Peter took it, and asked, "Can I open it?"

"That's what I gave it to you for."

"Right, yeah." Peter lifted the top of the box. Inside sat a watch. A very nice watch. It had a dark blue (but not quite navy) face with bezel of the same color and a dark brown leather band. It wasn't too flashy, but definitely expensive. "Wow… this is… I, I really appreciate this, but… um… how will it, uh, protect me?"

Tony smiled, "I made some modifications. If you press the crown three times it will send an alert to me, Pepper, and your security team."

"So it's like a panic button?"

"Yup."

"Tony..." Pepper reprimanded.

The man sighed, "It also has a tracker, is waterproof, and will alert us if the band is cut. It would track your vitals if I could've made the device small enough to fit in the watch." 

Having a tracker attached to him at all times didn't sound like a ton of fun, but with a group of security guards following him everywhere he probably wouldn't be able to get away with anything anyway.

When Peter didn't speak right away Pepper said, "Honey, I'm sorry that this is so extreme, it probably won't be necessary, but it will stop us from worrying."

Peter nodded and strapped the watch to his wrist to show his compliance.

Tony grinned, "Looking good kid. One last thing, we're going to meet with the principal at your school Monday morning. It's already scheduled and everything. We're just going to fix some paperwork. We don't have to tell the teachers and the students about your real identity, if you don't want, but we need to be your emergency contacts in case anything bad were to happen."

The teen nodded again. "Okay."

Pepper looked over at her husband. "We also have a question for you that was brought up earlier in the press conference."

"Uh… I do too actually."

"Yeah? How about you go first," she offered.

"Um… someone mentioned, um, me, I guess… running Stark Industries? I'm not sure, I'm, uh, the best person to do this."

"You'll get there, you don't have to be ready yet. And if you don't want to do it you don't have to, but we don't have to worry about that right now."

That didn't relieve all of Peter's worries, but some were lessened. "What question do you have for me?"

"We don't know anything about how you were raised and how you were treated growing up." Peter didn't like where this was going. "We wanted to check with you about that, did the Parkers ever do anything that made you uncomfortable or that hurt you?"

Peter remembered what Natasha told him earlier, and looked into Pepper's eyes. "No." He looked over to Tony, "They didn't- no. They were just… people." He broke eye contact. "Can I go to bed? I'm pretty tired."

"Yeah kid, go ahead."

Tony turned to his wife, "Please tell me you didn't buy that."

"Not really, but we can't force him to open up to us. We'll have to wait for him to come to us with that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> STUFF THAT HAS TO DO W/ STORY: I can't hear a Queens in Tom Holland’s American accent, but everyone says he has one so I’m going w/ it. 
> 
> FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @the_weirdpersonnextdoor
> 
> GUESS WHO’S OUTDOOR EMERGENCY CARE TRAINING BOOK CAME IN THE MAIL!!! THIS GIRL’S! The book is super full of great knowledge so look forward to some whump in the future:) BTW I got the book because my parents and I are training to become Ski Patrollers (basically cool first responders that ski and get to wear fancy jackets). We’re doing the training over the summer. Most of it’s already online but some parts are supposed to be in person, so I hope we can find a way to do it safely (so I can get that jacket). 
> 
> I really want to write a fanfic where Peter is Tony’s son and they go skiing together because that's an activity they can do in public w/o ppl recognizing Tony (because it’s completely acceptable to show 0 skin while skiing), but this time Peter crashes and gets hurt really bad. Please tell me if any of you would be interested! I’m probably gonna write it either way because I need to get this idea out of my head, but your interest may determine how fast it gets done. That story would be totally unrelated to this universe.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Starks meet with the principal and some other stuff happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is so short:(

**Chapter 4**

Peter survived the weekend. Sunday went similarly to Saturday: breakfast with his parents, followed by homework and somehow meeting even more new people. Wanda Maximoff and Vision were apparently in a relationship, which prompted Peter ask--once he was out of earshot of the couple--“Isn't he... a robot?” 

Tony laughed at that and gave Peter a mock stern look. “That’s the love child of Helen Cho and me, show him some respect.”

Needless to say, Peter’s question had not been answered. 

The teen officially decided he liked hanging out with the Avengers at about two PM on Sunday when he won the Mario Kart tournament and got the last packet of gummies. The team was welcoming toward him… and really bad at video games. 

He discovered that Natasha was, in fact, Black Widow, which he probably should have known considering her entire file was on the internet. 

After the Mario Kart tournament on Sunday, they played poker again, this time with Wanda and Vision; Peter lost again. 

That night, though, he had an uncomfortable conversation. 

oOo

The door to Peter’s room was open, but his dad still knocked before entering. Peter was sitting on his couch texting the robotics group chat, or rather, watching everyone else text the chat. 

“Hey kid, can I talk to you about something real quick?”

“Sure.”    
  


The man came over to the couch and sat on the end opposite Peter. “I was doing a little bit of snooping--definitely nothing illegal--and I saw you have asthma?”

Peter nodded slightly. 

“Okay, do you have everything you need? Drugs and stuff?” 

Peter thought of the two rescue inhalers he was supposed to have: one lost, the other almost empty. “Yeah.”

“That’s good. I’m adding you to our healthcare plan. When your next prescription’s available, it will be delivered to the penthouse. If you need anything before that, you can talk to me or Pepper.” Tony paused. “You can probably tell--it’s not exactly hard to spot--but I have no idea what I’m doing. Of course, that’s normal.” 

“You don't have to do anything. You don't have to worry about my asthma,” Peter reassured. 

“It’s my job to worry about you.” 

oOo

Monday was not quite as nice as Sunday had been, though Mondays rarely are. Peter had to wake up extra early because the meeting with Principal Morita was before school started, so less students would be in the halls. The only reason he actually got out of bed that morning was the smell of waffles coming from the kitchen. Every morning so far, one of his parents cooked a lavish breakfast. Peter wasn't sure if they did that everyday or if this was a “we don't know how to take care of a teenager, but we know they like food” thing. 

The Tower was situated considerably closer to his school than the apartment in Queens. Peter was happy that it wouldn't take almost an hour to get to school everyday. 

The man Peter met on Friday, Happy, was driving, Pepper riding shotgun, and the other two in the back. 

Peter was painfully aware of the black, nondescript van carrying the ‘small’ security team that would be parked in the lot behind the school while Peter was there.  _ Because a van with tinted windows isn't going to look suspicious at all sitting in a school parking lot all day.  _

Happy dropped the family off at the front entrance and they made their way up the stairs. The security guard at the front desk buzzed them in. There were no metal detectors or mandatory bag searches, like in city public schools, but there was a good security team posted at the entrances with heavy foot traffic and to parol the halls periodically. Coincidentally, Ben was at the front desk that morning. He didn't say anything to the Starks, except instructing them to sign the visitor sheet and take a badge, but he gave Peter a raised eyebrow. As if to say,  _ ‘Are they replacing me and May?’ _ Though the teen might have been reading too far into the look. 

oOo

Principal Morita was a smart man. He watched the news and kept up with current events. So when one of his students--a student who had left a field trip to Stark Industries under suspicious circumstances--came into a meeting with Pepper and Tony Stark, he put two and two together. Morita shook Pepper’s hand, who entered the office first. “Mrs. and Mr. Stark, James Morita. It's nice to meet you. Go ahead and take a seat.” 

The parents took the two outside seats, forcing Peter into the middle. 

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice, Mr. Morita. You’ve probably realized by now why we’re here today.” Pepper greeted. 

“I’ve had some suspicions.” Morita glanced at the teenager, who looked uncomfortable positioned between the two adults. 

In a school with hundreds of students Morita couldn't know each student personally, but he always paid attention to those names that teachers brought up again and again as star students. Not even a full year in and Peter had already drawn his attention. He received a full scholarship for academic achievement. Peter was only a freshman, and already taking AP Calculus AB. His robotics team was the first from the school to ever qualify for Worlds. 

Tony chuckled, “Yeah. He’s our son.” He clamped a hand on Peter’s shoulder and the teen offered him a small smile. “We want to update documents and parent contact information.” 

“I can definitely do that for you.”

“Great, let’s get started.”

Peter’s emergency contact information was updated, and Tony and Pepper were added to the parent email list. They didn't want their contacts in the directory, and also refused the photo release form, not wanting Peter to end up being used as advertisement for the school. That still left a bunch of forms for the parents to sign. In return, Principal Morita signed a non-disclosure agreement. 

The school day still hadn't started by the time the meeting ended, so they didn't encounter any students in the halls on the way back out. Some people came early to school, but those who did tended to avoid the main office area. 

Tony stopped by the door and clutched his own wrist. “Bud, if you don't want to go back to school so soon, we would totally understand.” 

Peter, who had been feeling just the tiniest bit smothered by his parents all weekend, replied, “I’m okay. I don't want to miss anything.”

“Right. Yes. Good grades and such. Well, if you need anything or want to come home early you can call us.” 

Peter nodded, “I will.” He was still kind of stunned that he had Tony and Pepper Stark’s private phone numbers in his contacts now. 

Pepper smiled and put a comforting hand on the teens arm, “Have a good day at school.” 

“I will,” he promised. 

“Play nice with the other kids,” Tony added  _ very  _ helpfully. Then the couple were gone out of the side door and Peter was left in the hallway. 

The teen made his way back up to the main doors. 

“Morning, squirt!” 

“Hey, Ben.” 

“Was that who I thought it was?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Is that why you couldn't come over on Saturday?”

“Yeah.” 

“Is this an upgrade?”

The teen paused for a second. “Yeah.” 

“Well then, I’m happy for you.” 

oOo

“Back to the tower, Boss?” 

Tony looked over at his wife sitting next to him in the back of the car. “Do you have any meetings this morning, Pep?”

She shook her head. 

“Can we wait here a little while,” the dad told Happy, “I just- if anything happens-” 

Pepper put an arm on her husband’s arm. “I’m good with that honey.” When Tony didn't respond, she tried to reassure him, “He’s gonna be okay.” 

“Yeah. I just-”

“I know.” She leaned her head onto Tony’s shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

oOo

Peter studied in the library until Ned arrived. 

“Dude, did you hear about the Starks?” Ned asked instead of a greeting. 

“I did.”

“It's crazy that the same thing happened to you bro! You're basically Peter Stark.” 

Peter had to keep from laughing. “Crazy.” 

oOo

The rest of the day went by refreshingly normal. Flash glared at him when he answered a question in Physics, Michelle sat at the end of Ned and his table at lunch, and English was terrible as usual. 

He had Robotics Lab after school. His team’s robot, Teddy, won states, but there were still improvements to be made. Worlds was in two months, which, as the robotics coach reminded them every practice, was approaching quickly. There were four people, including Peter, on his team. The school had three teams, but only Peter’s had qualified for Worlds. The members of the other two teams were still a part of Robotics Lab, if they wanted to be, getting to improve their robots and mess around. Unfortunately for Peter, Flash was on one of those teams. Not only did they share a remarkably similar schedule, but they were in Robotics Lab together, and Academic Decathlon. 

Flash was vocally upset about the injustice that his team faced at the tournament.  _ Clearly  _ his team was better than Parker’s. Flash’s team was just had bad alliances and faced really good opponents. It wasn't fair. And he liked to make his thoughts  _ very  _ clear to everyone. 

Finally the hour and a half of listening to Flash complain was over and the teens were released from the school building. Peter followed the text on his phone telling him where his ride was parked. For some reason Tony thought it was a good idea to park in the same corner of the parking lot as Flash’s chauffeur. 

“What are you doing over here Penis? Did you finally scrounge up the money for a car? Did you have to sell your textbooks?” Flash asked in mock concern. 

The Parkers did have a car, but Peter didn't correct the bully. He sighed. “Don't worry about it Flash.” 

The bully scoffed and threw him a disgruntled look, “Why would I worry about you Penis?” With that he strutted off to the slick black car waiting for him. 

Peter shuffled over to the ostentatious orange car Tony drove that day and hopped in the front seat. 

“Was that one of your friends, kid?” 

The teen made a noncommittal sound. 

Not wanting to push his son too much, Tony changed the subject. “Did you have a good day at school?” The man started the car. 

“Uh, It was pretty good.”

“Yeah? No one Iron Man should deal with?”

That made Peter smile. “Not yet, but I appreciate the offer.”

“Anytime, kid. Do you want to get an after school snack?”

“Oh- are you sure?”

“Yup. Anywhere you want, your choice.” 

“Anywhere?”

Tony pulled out on the road and glanced briefly at his son. “I mean I’m not going to buy you beer, but yeah, anywhere.” 

oOo

And that’s how a billionaire and his son ended up in a tiny sandwich shop in Queens. 

“Hey Mr. Parker, what can I get for you today?” 

“Hi Mr. Delmar!” Tony followed Peter in the door. “Number five with pickles, and can you, um, smoosh it down real flat? Thanks.” 

“And for you, sir.” Delmar addressed Tony, who put a hand on his son’s shoulder. Tony looked up at the menu board above the counter, giving Delmar the opportunity to give Peter a pointed look. The teen gave an almost imperceptible shrug in response. 

“I’ll take a number three?” 

“That’ll be seven forty.” 

Tony handed over a twenty. “Keep the change.”

“Thank you so much, sir!” 

Peter led the way to the little tables at the back of the shop, petting Murph on the way. 

“Do you go here often, kid?”

“Yeah, ‘best sandwiches in Queens.’”

“I saw; I have high expectations.” 

Peter laughed nervously. The billionaire might have different standards for sandwiches. What if he didn't like Delmar’s? This thought was chased from his mind when Delamr called that their order was up. “I got it,” Peter said and walked up to the counter. 

“So does this mean you’re Mr. Stark now?” Delmar asked in a low enough voice so Tony couldn't hear. 

Peter smiled mischievously, “Please, Mr. Stark is my father.” 

“Well, you’re really moving up in the world. Just don’t forget about us little guys in Queens.”

“Never.”   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone! A few people have been asking about if Peter has his powers yet in this fic, so let me get everyone up to speed on the time line that I’m planning. According to my math and what makes sense for the events of Spider-Man Homecoming, I’m pretty sure he was in 10th grade, in this fic he’s at the end of 9th grade (freshman year), he doesn't have his powers yet, but will get them before the summer starts. 
> 
> I don't really have plans for VEX Worlds in this story, originally I was planning that he wouldn't go (for reasons:) ), but if you guys would like a chapter about that I can do that. VOTE: YES in the comments if you would like a chapter about VEX Worlds, and NO if you don't want me to fangirl over robotics for a chapter. I’m cool with either option. 
> 
> Lastly, I don't think I will be able to update next month. For the next four weeks I’m taking a pre-calc and calc 1 course simultaneously, and won’t have time for anything but math all day. I’m sorry! After that I will come back a write another chapter:) 
> 
> Thanks for everyone who followed


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has an asthma attack and stresses Tony out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Description of child abuse and alcoholism. Description of asthma attack. Please be safe guys, if that might trigger you in any way, there’s a not super descriptive summary at the end AN so you can be caught up for future chapters :)
> 
> ALSO: Big thanks to all the people who made this chapter much better than it would have been and answered my many questions about asthma <3

Over the next week everything was perfect. The first major issue came up because of burnt popcorn. 

Who put popcorn in a microwave for eight minutes? Maybe it was a Freshman trying to use the complicated microwave for the first time. But that wasn’t a good enough excuse. The entire science wing of the school smelled burnt! Peter’s teacher thought something exploded in the Chem Lab! 

Fortunately, it was almost the end of class and Peter only had to stay in the room for a few more minutes. Unfortunately, that short amount of time breathing in little bits of burnt popcorn was too long. 

Really Peter should have known better. He should have told his parents two days ago when his inhaler ran out, but he didn’t. And because of that he was having an asthma attack, sitting against the wall in an empty classroom. Ned was right next to him for moral support, and to nag him about going to the nurse. 

“Dude, you realize how unsafe this is, right? We have to go to the nurse.”

“It’s not even that bad yet.” Peter let out a little wheeze, not really helping his point. “I don't want her to call home.” 

Ned looked at his watch, “Dude, there’s like ten minutes left, she wouldn’t have time to call your parents. If you pass out I don't want to be the one calling 911.” 

“I’m not going to pass out.” None-the-less, Peter stood up, on shaky legs, and let Ned support him, and lead him to the nurses office. Thankfully, the room was just down the hall, so they didn’t travel for long. May met them at the door. 

“Peter? Are you okay honey?”

“Yeah,” Peter replied. 

“No,” Ned said at the same time. 

She shook her head and walked the boys in. Peter sat down on a bed in the corner and leaned against the wall and tried to take a deep breath unsuccessfully. 

“Asthma,” Ned explained helpfully.

May grabbed something out of her cabinet quickly, then straightened up and turned back to her patient. “Do you have your inhaler Peter?” 

The teen shook his head and May frowned. She slipped a pulse oximeter onto the tip of Peter’s finger. Her frown deepened. 

“Peter, I know you're not going to like this, but I’m going to have to call an ambulance.” 

“No-” the teen’s plea was cut off by a gasp-y breath, which only solidified May’s opinion. 

“I’m not letting you walk home like this, Peter.”

“My dad’s picking me up.” 

May frowned at the mention of his father. Ben told her the true identity of Peter’s dad, and May had never been a huge fan of Tony Stark. “Is he here right now, and can he drive you to the hospital?”

“Yes, and yes.” Peter didn't actually know if Tony was at the school yet, but he always came on time and school ended in five-ish minutes so he was probably there. 

“Okay, let’s go out and talk to him. Ned, thank you for helping, but I can take it from here.” 

“Right, okay, feel better Peter.” 

“Thanks, dude.” Then Ned disappeared down the hall. 

May grabbed Peter’s backpack off the floor and helped the teen to his feet. 

The walk to the car was short, the nurses office was strategically positioned next to one of the school’s side entrances that happened to be next to the corner of the parking lot where Tony usually parked. 

May kept one hand on the teen’s arm to steady him, but let Peter lead her over to his car.

oOo

Tony and Happy only had to wait a couple minutes before Peter was walking toward the car. Something was different though, the teen was a little hunched over with a hand to his chest, and he was flanked by a woman that was too old to be one of his classmates. 

Happy also noticed, “Who’s the chick?” 

“I don't know.” Tony, too worried to give a proper reply, opened his door and slid out of the car to greet the mysterious person. 

“You’re Peter’s dad?” She asked like she already knew the answer, maybe she did.

“Yes. Is everything alright?”

“Not exactly. I’m May Fitzpatrick, the school nurse, Peter’s having an asthma attack and needs to get to the hospital as soon as possible.”

The father’s chest filled with anxiety. “Okay, okay, um, yeah, we can do that.” He hit the top of the car and called, “Got that Happy?”

Happy, who heard the entire exchange between the nurse and Tony, pulled up his mental map of New York city and found the nearest hospital. “Yup.” 

Peter took his bag back from May and slipped into the car. 

“Take care of him,” she gave Tony a threatening look. 

“I’d better.” 

oOo

For all of the reckless driving Tony partook in, the most scared he’d ever been in a car was with his son beside him, struggling to breath. 

The drive was barely ten minutes, but that was mostly because of Happy’s flagrant disregard for speed limits. For the entire ride Tony rubbed soothing circles on his son’s back, not knowing what else to do, and feeling a little stressed out. 

Peter switched between being bent over, head almost touching the seat in front of him, and sitting straight-backed against the chair (Tony moved his hand to the teen’s shoulder), just trying to get oxygen. The teen’s breaths progressively got worse as the minutes wore on, a little more wheeze added to each one. 

Tony was very relieved when the car pulled up in front of the emergency room. Happy had called ahead and a nurse with a wheelchair was waiting for them. Peter didn't even argue about getting in the chair, which, from what Tony knew about his son, was even more alarming. 

The nurse led them straight past the waiting room, heads turning at the commotion, (is that Tony Stark) and into the back room. 

oOo

The next hour passed in a blur of doctors and nurses and tests. They put Peter on a nebulizer, which helped, but his chest still felt like it was collapsing in on itself and his breathing was a little too shallow. 

His dad stayed by Peter’s side throughout the entire fiasco. Tony didn’t seem mad that the teen had interrupted his day. Mostly he just looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Was Iron Man actually scared? Peter didn’t think that was possible. 

Peter was leaning back on the propped up bed with an oxygen mask on. His O2 levels were still too low. There was a IV port in his arm, the doctors thought they might have to use it when the medicine through the nebulizer wasn't helping, but Peter’s breathing improved and they didn't need to give him medicine intravenously. 

There were still a fair number of medical professionals in the curtained off room, but the urgency level had gone from a solid eight to more of a two or three. Tony had even stepped away to give Pepper a more comprehensive update on their son’s condition. The woman was driving back from a meeting out of state. She went to a lot of meetings. 

With Tony on his phone, Peter took the opportunity to reassure Ned that he wasn't dying. The teen didn't remember how exactly his phone had gotten into the hospital room, but for the entire time Peter was in the hospital bed it had been buzzing with notifications. Peter didn't even bother reading through all of Ned’s panicked messages. He just sent a quick text explaining that he was okay. 

Unsurprisingly, his friend texted back immediately. 

oOo

Ne(r)d: OOOOOMG PETER! I WAS SO WORRIED!!

Peter: My bad

Ne(r)d: Ur good dude

Ne(r)d: I’m glad ur okay

oOo

“I’m not sure yet, everything’s up in the air. I love you too, see you soon.” Tony ended his phone call and scooched his chair back over to the bed. “Hey kid, how ya feeling?”

How was he feeling? Better than an hour ago. Better than 30 minutes ago, even. But now Peter really needed his lungs to start doing their job so he didn't need oxygen and he could go home. “Good.” 

“I’ll bet,” Tony’s voice dripped with sarcasm. 

The doctor came back into the pseudo-room, and greeted the patient, “Are you feeling better Peter?” 

The boy in question just nodded. 

“That's good,” she replied with a smile. “We’re going to get you set up in a private room, how does that sound?”

“Why?” That was a little ruder than he could have been, but he wasn't really thinking.

The doctor, Peter should really learn her name, glanced toward Tony momentarily. Of course they were going to a private room because his dad was famous and would draw too much attention. “We want to make you as comfortable as possible for the duration of your time here.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

oOo

Pepper arrived around dinner. In the time between when he was moved into a private room and dinner, they’d done another nebulizer treatment, which didn't do enough for Peter not to need oxygen. But he’d upgraded from an oxygen mask to a little thing in his nose. Yay! They also did a Peak flow test, in which he had to blow as much as he could into a little plastic thing, but because he didn't know his usual average it wasn't actually that useful. 

Tony left to retrieve some clothes and toiletries for Peter and himself when Pepper arrived, as it looked like they might have to stay the night. 

Without Tony’s constant chatter, the hospital room was stiflingly quiet. 

“Hospital food really isn't that bad,” Peter blurted. 

“It’s hard to mess up chicken tender. I bet even Vision could make them well.” The last time Vision tried to cook, he used flour instead of sugar in cookies. 

“I’m sorry for interrupting your meeting.” Peter picked up another tender with the hand not bearing the pulse oximeter. 

The mother’s voice softened as she said, “It’s not your fault honey, your health matters more than share-holders.”

Peter gave her a small smile. 

Their peaceful evening in the hospital was ruined by a text from Ned. 

Peter felt his phone buzz and quickly looked down. Ned just sent him a link to a Twitter post, so Peter clicked. 

The text of the post symply read: “Is this who I think it is????” But it was mostly the picture included, that interested the teen. It was a picture of Tony and Peter entering the emergency room, the son in a wheelchair, nurse pushing him, looking in distress. His face wasn't fully facing the camera, but he was recognisable to anyone who knew him. Tony was a half step behind, in this particular shot he had his hand protectively on his son’s shoulder. 

Pepper, who had also gotten some messages, looked up from her phone. “Don't go on Twitter right now.”

“Too late,” Peter said sheepishly. 

Pepper sighed. “That’s okay. Don't worry about it. We’ll figure this out.”

“Yeah, of course, don't worry. What is there to be worried about,” Peter laughed a little nervously, then pulled his attention back to his phone. 

oOo

Peter: Heeeeeeey….

Ne(r)d: DUDE! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME???!?!?!

Peter: I’m sorry dude I was kinda supposed to keep it on the DL 

Peter: are u mad

Ne(r)d: of course not

Ne(r)d: I can't stay mad at a STARK 

Peter Stark: lol

Peter Stark: sorry that I didn't tell u

Ne(r)d: looking back I really should have realized this sooner…

Ne(r)d: ur really terrible at keeping secrets 

Ne(r)d: I’m just worse at figuring them out 

Peter Stark: Why do u think ur my friend

Ne(r)d: ahahahaha

Ne(r)d: can I meet Iron Man now????

Peter Stark: not if u call him Iron Man when u do

Ne(r)d: but hes iron man tho

Peter Stark: lol

Ne(r)d: Flash is gonna be so jealous 

Peter Stark: he’s going to be worse than usual I can feel it

Ne(r)d: U don't think he’ll try to replace me?

Peter Stark: no one could ever replace you. Ur one of a kind:)

Ne(r)d: :)

oOo

The parents decided to deal with the picture circulating the internet when Peter was out of the hospital, which didn't seem to be happening in the immediate future. 

As soon as Tony came back to the hospital and Peter finished his dinner, the teen fell asleep, exhausted from the day's excitement. 

“Do you want me to stay with you guys?” Pepper asked her husband.

“No, we’ll be okay.”

Pepper came over to her husband where he stood, and placed her arms around his shoulders gently, almost as if they were going to dance. “It’s not your fault Peter got taken, don't do this to yourself.”

Tony wrapped his hands around her back, engulfing her in a hug. “I know,” he said, clearly unsure, “I’m not trying to prove myself to you or anyone else. I just need to do this for me.”

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

oOo

Peter sat in the living room of the penthouse. His parents' voices came from behind him, a low murmur from the dining room table. 

Birds flew outside the windows. Beautiful peaceful patterns in the sky. The sun reflected off of their feathers, casting a rainbow of light into the room. Happy chirping from the birds filled the room, which usually wouldn't be possible with the sound proof walls. 

The elevator dinged, marking the arrival of a visitor. Dread filled Peter’s chest as he leaned over the back of the couch looking into the hall to see who was there. The elevator doors opened slowly revealing the sight of a dark street. A man came into view, stepping out of the night. The birds outside stopped chirping. Richard Parker stood in the hallway of the Stark Penthouse. 

Peter jerked around, turning to the dining area. “Tony! Pepper!” He tried to call to his parents, but they no longer sat at the table. 

Richard stumbled down the hallway and the teen noticed the half-empty bottle of alcohol in the man’s hand. “Useless boy, stupid boy,” the man mumbled as he aproched Peter. 

The teen shot up from the couch and backed up as far away from Richard as he could while still being able to keep an eye on the man. 

Now Richard was in the living room, still muttering, cursing Peter’s very existence. The teen tried to blend into the wall, making himself even smaller. 

Richard’s eyes finally fell on teen and he stopped walking. Peter was shaking now, knees pulled up to his chest. 

“Peter!” Richard screamed, and the teen covered his ears. “Peter!” 

Peter let out a little whimper. 

“Peter!” Richard threw the bottle. It exploded on the wall next to the teens head.

Peter jerked awake in the hospital bed. His heart racing in his chest, lungs struggling to draw in a breath. 

“Peter, Peter, hey buddy. You’re okay.” Tony was right there, leaning over the side of the bed. Richard wasn't there, he was okay, he was safe. 

The teen put a hand to his chest trying to get control of his breathing. 

Tony rubbed a hand up and down his son’s upper arm. “Hey bud, you with me?”

Peter nodded in response. His breathing evened out slightly, but his heart was still beating faster than it should. 

“That’s good, kid. Can I give you a hug, buddy?” 

Peter nodded again. He felt Tony’s strong arms wrap around him, careful of the wires and tubes attached, and scooped him up. The teen’s head rested on his dad’s shoulder, face tucked into his neck. Peter finally noticed the tears falling from his own eyes. 

The room door creaked open and a man’s voice spoke quiet words that Peter couldn't hear.

“Yeah, yeah we’re okay,” Tony responded to the man in the doorway. “Sure. Sounds good.” With another creak the door closed and father and son were left alone again. 

Tony rocked them back and forth comfortingly. “Do you want to talk about it? I’ve been told that helps.”

Peter wasn't sure why he said it, maybe it was the anxiety in his chest needing to release the words, or maybe that it was the middle of the night and he had no filter. No matter the reason, Peter whispered, “Richard hit me.” 

The rocking stopped. “In your dream?” 

Peter could have taken the easy way out and said ‘yes,’ but for some reason he chose truth again and shook his head. 

Tony’s grip tightened slightly and the rocking started again. The father leaned his head on Peter’s. 

They sat in silence for a while, Tony rocking them and Peter getting his breathing under control. After a couple minutes the teen noticed dampness leaking into his hair. 

Tony spoke, his voice breaking slightly, “I’m so sorry Peter.” 

“‘S not your fault.” 

“Maybe not,” he said it as if he didn't believe his own words. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, I’m sorry I wasn't there to protect you.” Tony paused. “Pepper and I would’ve done anything to keep you safe and happy.” 

Peter’s tears slowed and breaths evened out in the comforting embrace of his dad. 

“You know I love you, right buddy?” 

Did he know that? Yes. Of course. Why else would Tony have even taken him in if he didn't love him. Peter nodded. 

“And you know that it wasn't right for Richard to hurt you?” 

A tiny voice in the back of his mind asked ‘What if I deserved it?’ but Peter was smart enough not to say that out loud. Instead he just nodded again. 

“Okay. Good.” Tony planted a light kiss on the side of Peter's head then said, “It’s late. We’re tired. Let’s talk more about this with your mom in the morning, does that sound like a plan?” 

“I don't want her to know,” Peter mumbled into Tony’s neck. He didn't know why, but Pepper knowing was even worse than Tony. 

“I’m sorry kid, but she has to know. I can tell her if you’d like that?” 

“Okay.” 

They stayed still for a little while longer until a light knocking and the creak of the door interrupted. “Hey bud, is it okay if we sit up, the nurse just wants to check on you.”

Peter unfurled himself from around his father, wiped his eyes, and sat up in the bed. Tony grabbed the little remote and propped the end of the bed up for the teen to lean against. 

The nurse checked Peter’s blood pressure and made him breath into the peak flow meter again. Peter assumed everything was okay, because the man left after that. 

“Do you want to try to go back to sleep?”

“Not really,” Peter replied. 

Tony nodded as if he understood the feeling. “Do you want to watch something?”

That was better than sitting in silence. “Sure.”

The TV in the room showed static for a second before mirroring the content of Tony’s phone screen. He opened Netflix and clicked the first show in Peter’s “Continue Watching” section, which happened to be Parks and Recreation. 

“Scooch over, bud.”

Peter moved to the right, and Tony joined him on the bed as the episode resumed. 

The kid leaned into his dad’s shoulder, definitely not because he needed comfort or anything, just because he was cold and Tony was warm. Definitely. 

Peter tried to lose his thoughts in the show. Unsurprisingly, it was a lost cause. Why did he have to tell Tony about what Richard had done? Why did he think that would be a good idea? 

“He only hit me a couple times,” he mumbled into his dad’s shoulder. 

“That doesn't make it any better, kid,” Tony tried to keep the bite out of his voice, he wasn't mad at Peter. 

“I thought they were my parents.” 

“Well, even parents can be bad people. Pepper and I are going to make mistakes, we would never hurt you on purpose, but we’re still going to make mistakes.” Tony put an arm around his son, pulling the kid closer, “I love you, kid.” 

Peter smooshed the side of his face farther into his dad's nightshirt. His eyes found their way to the TV, which had been running, volume set to low, the entire time. Peter focused on the show for a few minutes, not quite able to make himself laugh at the jokes. Then, somehow, it was too much work to keep his eyes open and he just listened to the audio. But his dad’s arms around him were too safe, and eventually even the audio faded away. 

And Peter was asleep. Snuggled on his dad’s chest for the first time in 13 years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My thoughts and prayers go to the family of Chadwick Boseman. Rest in power. Wakanda Forever. 
> 
> Summary: Peter has an asthma attack and doesn't have his inhaler, so May (the school nurse) wants to call an ambulance. Peter insists that his dad can drive him to the hospital, and Tony does. There’s a vague description of medical procedures because I’m not a medical professional, I only know how to do basic first aid on trauma cases (that will be coming in future chapters don't worry). Basically, Peter’s breathing gets better, but he still needs assistance from oxygen, so they set him up in a private room. Pepper gets to the hospital and stays with her son while Tony gets some stuff from their penthouse. Ned finds out Peter is Tony Stark’s son because of a picture of them entering the hospital circling on Twitter. Ned and Peter text about that. Pepper leaves the hospital when Tony comes back, but Tony stays the night with Peter, almost trying to redeem himself. Peter wakes up from a nightmare and tells Tony that Richard used to hit him. Tony tries to comfort his son and explains that abuse isn't okay. The chapter ends with Tony and Peter snuggling in the hospital bed and Peter falls asleep. 
> 
> Stay safe and healthy everyone. Thank you for reading,  
> Jewell


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets out of the hospital. He goes back to school and runs into trouble from Flash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter’s late! I’m a little overwhelmed at the moment. 
> 
> TW: Mentions of child abuse, description of bullying, an adult yells as a child, strong language, Peter low-key hating himself. Stay safe guys! There is a summary at the end:)

Peter had his asthma attack on a Thursday, and was finally allowed to go home Friday afternoon. Pepper came back, earlier that day, Friday morning and found the father son pair asleep in the hospital bed. Tony with arms around Peter, The teen’s face snuggled against Tony’s chest, a thin line of drool soaking into the billionaire's shirt. 

Pepper snapped a picture before waking Tony up. She ran her fingers through his hair and his eyes slipped open, taking in the situation around him. He looked down at his son and back up to Pepper. A smile made its way onto the man’s lips. “Hey Pep,” he whispered. 

“Hey honey,” the woman responded, matching his volume level. “Sleep well?”

“Not… exactly.”

“What happened?”

“Peter had a nightmare, he’s okay now.” Tony hesitated before he spoke again, “We have to talk about something when we get home.”

Pepper nodded, trusting her husband.

oOo

The breakfast offered by the hospital was not quite at good as the chicken tenders. It might not have helped that Peter had gone through another nebulizer treatment right before eating and had a little bit of an aftertaste from the medicine. On the bright side, the teen's oxygen levels went back to a healthy range after the morning treatment. 

His mom hung out with him in the morning while Tony made phone calls. Pepper said he was hiring doctors to help his asthma. 

“They’ll just always be on call in the medical wing?” Peter questioned. 

“Not exactly, what we have right now is a rotating shift of trauma doctors and surgeons so there’s always staff available to deal with emergencies, but it's not always the same people. Also when there isn't a medical emergency the doctors on-call have access to top of the line labs where they can do as much research as they like. Tony was able to convince Helen Cho to come to the tower with that offer.” 

“Why is he hiring even more doctors if there's already a full staff?”

“We want to hire someone specifically trained to deal with asthma.”

“Sorry,” Peter mumbled.

“It’s not your fault, honey. No one’s mad at you.” Pepper leaned forward, looking into her son’s eyes. 

The teen gave a small nod. “Okay.”

oOo

The pharmacy at the hospital gave Peter another inhaler, to replace the lost one, when he was discharged. Tony had already planned a doctor’s appointment with a specialist to make sure they have an action plan next time Peter has an attack. 

The ride home was quiet. The teen was on his phone. If anyone asked, he was definitely not looking at news articles about himself or anything. 

The small pit of dread that had been ruminating since he’d woken up leaning against his dad’s chest only deepened when the small family arrived back at their home. Tony kept all of his movements slow, talking quietly, walking on eggshells. 

“Do you want some food, bud?” 

“Sure.” Peter knew they were going to have to talk because a midnight chat wasn't quite enough to deal with all of his trauma. 

All too soon the time came for the family to talk. The three people sat in the living room on the comfortable couches. Peter with a grilled cheese sandwich beside him. He’d only nibbled on the corners, too anxious to be truly hungry. Tony was on his left, with a hand resting on the teen’s shoulder. Pepper faced them seated on the other couch, faced creased with worry. 

Tony gave his son’s shoulder a squeeze before speaking. “Last night at the hospital Peter shared with me about Richard Parker.” 

Pepper pursed her lips and nodded. 

“Peter said that Richard was physically abusive toward him.” 

The teen looked down at his hands, not really caring to see his parents’ faces right then. A silence spread between the trio. Peter heard his mom stand up, fabric pulling away from the leather couch. Her shoes grazed the carpet then the couch springs squeaked as she sat down. Pepper placed a hand on his back and started rubbing small rhythmic circles. 

“Can you elaborate on that a little?” Pepper asked. 

“He only did it a few times,” Peter defended his kidnapper once again. 

“Like I already said, that doesn't make it any better, kid.” Tony still had his hand on his son’s shoulder. 

“He would, um, come home drunk, some nights. And I wasn't smart when I was younger, and, uh, I would do something to piss him off, and he’d just get mad. I started making sure I was in my room when he came back from drinking.”

“Peter, you know that it wasn't your fault that he hurt you, right honey?” Pepper’s voice sounded a little tighter that usual. “It wasn't because you were smart or not, it was because-”

“-he’s a jackass,” Tony finished. 

“Right,” Peter replied, not super convincingly. 

“And he’s going to jail for the rest of his life by the time I get to him.”

“What do you mean?” Peter looked up.

“Our lawyers are going to rip him apart for this, there’ll be nothing left.”

“I don’t want you to tell the lawyers,” Peter whispered. 

“Why not, honey?” Pepper asked. 

“There’s no evidence, it’s just my word against his. And I don't want to be in the middle of a court battle having to tell a room full of strangers about that kind of thing.” He’d thought about this. Stealing a billionaire’s kid had to have enough charges as it was, they didn't need to bring up the child abuse. 

“Let’s talk about this with the lawyers at the next meeting, capisce?” Tony leaned down so he could look at his son’s face.

Peter met Tony’s gaze. “‘Kay.”

oOo

The pulmonologist appointment was scheduled for saturday morning. Peter had to take more tests then he liked, and answer a bunch of questions. Dr. Martian prescribed a medication to take daily to try and keep his asthma under control, instead of just dealing with it when a problem arised. 

After the appointment, the teen worked on make-up work, while the parents worked with their social media manager to write an address to the press asking them to respect Peter’s privacy. 

oOo

Peter somehow finished all his homework before Monday and was very ready to go back to school. Unfortunately, his parents were not ready for him to go back to school. More accurately, Tony wasn't ready for him to go back to school. 

The terror that gripped the man when he saw his son unable to breath… he didn't want that to happen again. Maybe it would be better if Peter just stayed home for a couple days? 

Maybe Tony should schedule an emergency appointment with his therapist. 

The father’s worries were not quite a good enough reason to keep Peter home from school. 

Tony wasn't the only one worrying about going back to school, but Peter was anxious for very different reasons. 

With the face of Peter Stark all over the internet, it was impossible that his classmates hadn't seen the picture. Therefore, his classmates must know his parents were Tony and Pepper Stark. 

The teen wasn't really looking forward to the attention his new found fame might cause. 

oOo

“Peter! Peter! Peter!” The overexcited freshman bounced up to his best friend in the hall.

“Hey Ned,” Peter replied. 

“How’re you feeling? All better?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Ned seemed to actually vibrate with pent up energy. 

“You can ask about them, it’s fine.” Peter resisted the urge to sigh. 

“Peter this is crazy! You’re a Stark!” Ned whisper-yelled. Anyone in the hall that wasn't already looking at them, glanced over. 

“Yeah, I know.” Peter started walking to their first period class, Ned gamboling behind. 

“What’s it like living with the Iron Couple?”

Peter nearly gagged at the nickname. “They’re fine, don't call them that.”

“You saw what people are saying about you on Twitter, right?”

Peter groaned. “Yes, and before you ask, I’m not getting an ‘Iron Son’ suit.”

Ned looked disappointed. 

The friends walked into their physics class and sat near the front, because they’re nerds. 

The rest of the class started to fill in around them. Unfortunately that included Flash. 

“What’s up Penis Parker?” Flash greeted, sitting behind Peter and Ned. “How much did you have to pay to get that picture photoshopped? Because we all know you can't actually be Tony Stark’s kid.” 

Some of the classmates laughed with Flash, too scared to disagree with the bully. Peter just kept his head down. 

“Or did you pay in something other than money?”

“Shut up, Flash!” Ned defended his friend.

“Ned, we aren't disrespectful in this class,” Mrs. Emerson told the teen as she entered the classroom. 

Flash smirked. 

oOo

The rest of the day wasn't much better. People stared at him and talked behind his back. Flash teased him. 

The only person not interested in the subject of the latest school drama was Michelle. The girl didn't even sit at the table with Ned and Peter at lunch. Michelle had never been super friendly with Peter, but now she just ignored him. 

Peter had to answer some questions at robotics practice after school. Most students didn't come to robotics practices anymore, if their robot didn't make it to worlds. Only the kids who really like robotics and were willing to do it for fun, and Peter’s small team, were left. 

Flash was insufferable for the entirety of the practice. When Jael asked if Peter was actually the Stark’s kid Flash cut in before the teen in question could even answer. 

“Ha! Do you really think Tony Stark would admit to having a son like Penis Parker?”

“Shut the fuck up Flash, I wasn’t talking to you,” Jael’s status as a Upperclassman got Flash to stop. He was a bully, but he was still a Freshman. 

oOo

Flash kept teasing Peter, to the point that many of their classmates didn't believe that Peter was a Stark. Even though Tony and Pepper literally confirmed that the boy in the picture, Peter, was their son!

Peter didn't tell his parents about Flash. He wasn't so weak that he needed Iron Man to come in and save him. Also, Ned always stood up to Flash for him. Ned was his Iron Man. 

Unfortunately, Ned couldn't be with him all the time. 

Flash took Spanish 2 with Peter, while Ned had Latin 1. 

“¡Hola clase!” Señor Pérez greeted. 

“Hola Señor,” the class responded, much less energetically. 

“Today we’re going to start your final presentations for the year,” Pérez paused for applause that never came. “It will be a presentation de sus familias.” 

Peter put his head down on the desk and couldn't see Flash’s snear. 

“The presentation must have a visual aid of a family tree, digital or physically drawn, you have to have padres, hermanos, tíos, primos y abuelos.” Parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents. 

Peter resisted the temptation to hit his head on the desk. 

“Include names, relationships, use our description vocabulary words for physical attributes and personality. You can include pictures if you would like. There is 20 minutes left in class for you to get started, this will be due next Monday.” It was Wednesday, Señor Pérez was giving them lots of time. 

Students took out their notebooks or computers. 

“What are you planning to do Parker,” Flash asked quietly, feigning concern. Why did Flash always sit near him? 

“Flash! Peter! Stop talking and get to work!” Flash sent another glare at Peter. 

oOo

At the end of class all of the students packed up and started leaving. Peter was just finishing up a sentence and by the time he was done, most of his classmates were gone. Even the teacher had left. In the course of writing the presentation Peter realized he knew almost nothing about his family. Google was going to be his friend for this project. 

Peter left the classroom heading toward the cafeteria. He stopped when he saw the other teen loitering in the hall. 

“If I was Tony Stark I would be glad if a son like you got himself kidnapped.” Flash pushed himself off the wall where he’d been leaning, and took a step toward his classmate. 

Ned wasn't there to stand up to Flash for his friend, but Peter didn't need him this time. He was sick of Flash acting like a jerk. How could he be Iron Man’s son if he couldn't even stick up for himself. “What’s your problem, man?” 

“You’re my problem, Penis.” The smile was gone from Flash’s face. 

“I haven’t done anything to you Flash, just leave me alone.” Peter took a step toward the bully, barely a foot of space left between them. 

“Get out of my face Parker!” Flash lashed out, pushing Peter back hard. Peter fell on the ground, head banging off the metal door to Mr. Harrington’s office. 

Flash looked horrified, maybe because Peter hit his head, maybe because Mr. Harrington opened the office door (as much as he could with a teenager in the way) a half second after. “This seems above my paygrade, I’m going to have to take you two to the office.”

oOo

For as long as Tony had known him, which wasn't very long, Peter had never been one to get very angry. Peter wasn't a violent kid. So when the father got a call for the school saying his son had been involved in a fight, he knew something was wrong. 

Pepper was meeting with some of the stockholders, and couldn't get away, so Tony drove to the school on his own. 

The father was given a visitor’s pass by the security guard at the door and pointed in the direction of the main office. 

Voices from the office poured out into the hall: “Is this the kid that got in a fight with my son?” A deep voice asked. 

The calm voice of Morita tried to placate, “Mr. Thompson, please calm down.” 

“Calm down! I’m a very busy man and I’m missing a meeting because of this little freak!” Tony rounded a corner into the office just in time to see Mr. Thompson pointing at his, slightly disheveled, son. Peter was hunched over in the chair, not looking at the man yelling at him, a paper towel held to the back of his head. 

“Get the fuck away from my son.”

Mr. Thompson turned and saw the other parent. “Mr. Stark,” he greeted, stepping away from the teen. 

“That’s me. Principal Morita, is there somewhere I can talk to my son in private?” 

“Uh, yeah, you can have my office.” 

Peter stood and let Tony lead him into the room off to the side. Only as they left did Tony notice the other boy who’d been involved in the fight, sitting in the corner of the room, staring up at the billionaire with wide eyes. 

Tony closed the door to Morita’s office, cutting off the view of the other father and son. He turned back around to his son. “Are you okay, Peter?”

The teen was looking at the ground, still holding the paper towel to the back of his head. He mumbled, “Yeah,” rather unconvincingly. 

“Let me see your head, buddy.”

The teen sat down and removed the paper towel from his head to let his dad get a better look. There was a little cut that had mostly stopped bleeding. “I think you’ll live, but keep pressure on it.” 

Peter nodded. 

Tony sat down next to his son. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“We got in a fight.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that part. Can you tell me specifically what happened? Who threw the first punch?”

“He just pushed me, it wasn't a big deal, they didn't have to call you.” 

“He pushed you, and what did you do?”

“I fell,” Peter mumbled. 

“Why did he push you, kid?” Tony felt like a detective. 

The teen shrugged. 

“Has this been going on for long?”

“I can take care of myself.”

Tony sat back as if physically hit by the words. “Excuse me?”

“I’m fine. You don't have to baby me. I don't need Iron Man to save me.”

“Well luckily enough I’m not just Iron Man, I’m your dad, and it’s my job to protect you. Now tell me, has this kid been picking on you?” Tony’s voice was more commanding, but not to the point of being scary. 

Peter finally relented. “A little. It’s never gotten physical before though.” 

“What did it look like before?” 

“He’d just say things, I don’t know.” 

“Thank you for telling me. Are you ready to go back out into the main room again? If that Tom-whatever yells at you again I’ll kill him.”

Peter ignored the final statement “Yeah we can go back out there.”

The father son duo came back out and sat down across from the Thompsons. 

Principal Morita started talking, “Mr. Stark, Mr. Thompson, I want to start by saying that Midtown does not tolerate bullying of any kind. But we also want to give our students as many opportunities to change as possible. Peter has never been involved in an altercation before, and from his account and the account of the teacher who saw some of the fight, it seems like he was not the aggressor. He’s going to be let off with a warning this time.” 

“Thank you Mr. Morita,” Tony replied.

Morita nodded in acknowledgment. “On the other hand, Flash has gotten into a fight with another student before this, he will have three days in school suspension.”

Something had happened between the time Tony first entered the room and that moment, suddenly Mr. Thompson’s anger had shifted from Peter to his own kid. The man grabbed his son’s wrist and whispered something in the teen’s ear so Tony couldn't hear. 

“Peter can go back to class if he’d like, but Flash has to take the rest of the day off.”

“Fine. Are we done here?” Mr. Thompson asked, rather rudely. 

“Yes, thank you for your time.” Flash and his dad were gone before Morita had the chance to stop talking. 

Peter stood up too. “I have Calc soon, so I should get going.”

“I can teach you calculus, kid. Let’s go home and get your head checked out.”

“It’s fine, Tony.”

“We have ice cream at home, are you really going to make me eat all the ice cream by myself?”

“Okay. Ice cream’s better than Calc.”

“Perfect.” Tony turned to Mr. Morita. “Thank you, sir.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“Come on, Peter, let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets out of the hospital. The Starks talk about what Richard did to Peter and decide to talk to their lawyers about it later. Peter goes back to school and Ned’s really excited to see him (and because he is the son of Tony and Pepper Stark). Flash starts making fun of Peter, not believing that he is a Stark. Over the next few days the bullying gets worse, eventually getting to the point where Flash pushes him to the ground. 
> 
> Both Tony and Flash’s dad get called into the office, Flash’s dad gets there first and by the time Tony gets there the man is yelling at Peter. Tony protects his son and gets Flash’s dad to stop. Tony and Peter talk in private and Peter doesn't want to tell his dad that he’s being bullied. Tony eventually gets him to open up and gets his side of the story. The father son duo go back to the main room and Principal Morita gives Flash 3 days in school suspension and lets Peter go on a warning. Peter and Tony go home and eat ice cream.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry that it took me so long to update!!! Also any mistakes are my fault, I only edited minimally to get this out as soon as possible:) 
> 
> Chapter 7

Flash was back at school before the regional Academic Decathlon competition (luckily he missed seeing Peter’s Spanish presentation). Flash’s participation in the tournament didn't make a difference. They still lost. 

Tony and Pepper came to watch the “Super Quiz” section where teams went head to head answering questions. His parents came, just to see him fail. Great. 

After the winners were announced,  _ Brooklyn Visions Academy, _ Peter made his way from the student section, to the audience. Before the teen could find his parents, his name was called by someone else. 

Peter turned his head to see Ben and May, and a smile broke out on his face. “Hey guys, I didn't know you were coming!”

Ben gave Peter a hug in greeting. “Just because you have different parents doesn't mean we don't want to come and support you.”

The teen looked at the ground. Richard and Mary never came to his school events, so Ben and May started turning up to them instead. 

“Thank you,” Peter whispered. 

“You did so good, honey.” May put a hand on his shoulder. 

“We lost, how good did I really do?” 

Before May or Ben could respond to the question, another voice was heard. 

“Peter! Hey, kid!” A few heads turned in the direction of the famous couple, but no one stopped them. 

“Hey, Tony.” Peter turned away from Ben and May to greet his parents, scanning their expressions for any anger or disappointment. All he found were smiling faces.

Tony and Pepper reached the teen and sandwiched him in a hug then let go. 

“You did so good, Peter!” Pepper told her son enthusiastically. 

“Thanks,” he mumbled. 

“You’ll get ‘em next time, bud,” Tony tried to encourage, ruffling his son’s hair. Peter’s face flushed red with embarrassment as he flattened his hair back down.

The teen backed up to bring both couples into a circle around him. “Um, Ben, May, these are my parents. Parents, this is Ben and May Fitzpatrick.” 

Tony turned toward his son. “Ben and May as in your friends Ben and May?”

Peter gave a little nod. He’d kind of hoped Tony’d forgotten that. 

“It’s so good to meet you both,” Pepper cut in, “We should have you guys over and get to know you sometime.” 

“We would love that!” May replied. “We actually-” she looked over at her husband with a questioning expression. Ben gave a little nod. “-used to take Peter out for ice cream after competitions. We could continue the tradition if you’d like?”

Tony forced a smile on his face. “Sounds fun. You up for that kid?”

Before the teen could reply, Michelle tapped on the shoulder. “Mr. Harrington called a meeting; he wants us back at the bus.” The girl didn't spare the Starks a second glance before turning around and heading to the meeting. Peter was glad that Ned didn't come to let him know, or there would have been some extra excitement. 

“Uh, ice cream sounds good, I like ice cream,” Peter answered the earlier question before following Michelle. 

Outside of the auditorium a small ring of teens in ugly yellow blazers huddled in front of a school bus. The yellow of the bus clashed terribly with the blazers. 

“Peter, come join the circle and we can get started,” Mr. Harrington called.

The teen in question found his way next to his best friend before their teacher began speaking. 

“I have a little surprise for all of you. Next week on Tuesday, during our usual club meeting time after school, we will be going on a little field trip.” 

Blank faces met his admission and Mr. Harrington continued. “We’re going to Oscorp!” The teacher tried to sound joyfull. 

A few kids smiled, but most were too tired and discouraged to show any excitement. 

“Alright,” Mr. Harrington sounded even more dejected than the students. “I’ll email you all the permission slips. For now, students getting a ride back to the school, get back on the bus. Anyone with a ride here waiting for them, try not to die.” 

Peter went back into the auditorium and found his parents exactly where he’d left them, talking amiably to the Fitzpatricks. 

oOo

Ice cream was fine. They sat outside, Tony and Pepper wearing hats and sunglasses in an effort to not get noticed. Pepper made sure her husband stayed civil and avoided interrogating the other couple. 

Peter ate his ice cream quietly, only adding to the conversation when asked a question directly. 

“Kid?”

Peter looked up from where he was examining the tiny chocolate chips in his ice cream. “Yeah, Tony?” 

“What did your teacher want after the competition?”

“Oh. He just wanted to tell us about a field trip for the team.”

May smiled at the teen. “That sounds fun.”

“Where ya going?” Ben inquired. 

Peter mumbled something too quiet for the adults to hear. 

“Come again?” Tony asked, with more sass then strictly necessary. 

“We’re going to Oscorp….” The table stayed silent for longer than Peter could deal with. “.... but I don’t have to go if-”

“Oh no no. I’m not about to pass up a free opportunity to get a spy to infiltrate the competition. I’ll get you set up with a watch camera and some audio recording pens. Maybe even-” Tony stopped rambling when his wife placed a hand on his arm. 

“Tony,  _ I _ know you’re joking, but I get the impression that not everyone at the table knows you’re joking. Let’s slow our roll.” 

Peter’s panicked expression smoothed back into mild anxiety. 

“Right, sorry.” Tony turned to the rest of the group. “I was only teasing, I wouldn't have my son spy on my business competition.” Then, under his breath he said, “At least I was mostly joking.”

The ice cream was finished without any more drama. They talked about Midtown Tech, and the science fair Peter won two year earlier. They talked about Stark Industries and having to wake up early for work, mundane subjects. 

Long after all of the ice cream had melted the two families said their goodbyes. 

May gave Peter a tight hug. “You have to come over soon, Peter.  _ The Force Awakens  _ just came  _ On Demand _ , and Ben needs to see it.” May went to the theatre with Ned and Peter when the new  _ Star Wars _ was released in December. 

“We have off school for an in service day next Friday, if that works for you guys?” Peter looked back at his parents. “Is that okay?” 

Tony nodded. “Should be fine.”

Ben smiled. “Sounds like a plan.” 

oOo

The days prior to the field trip flew by. Before Peter knew it, he was stepping off a yellow school bus in front of the large modern building that held Oscorp Industries. 

“Stick with me this time, Peter,” Ned commanded. “Iron Man wouldn’t like it if you turned out to be another billionaire’s long lost son.”

“Somehow I don’t think that will happen,” Peter reassured his friend, but still followed close to the other boy. 

The main entrance was no less impressive than Avengers Tower. Large glass windows let in natural light in the giant room. A guest check-in was the centerpiece of the room, with a door for employees to the left and a small display, telling the history of the company, to the right. 

The tour only lasted a couple hours, unlike the all-day affair at Stark Industries. 

Near the end of the two hours, bad luck struck Peter. He couldn't get through one field trip without drama. At first the teen wasn't sure what happened when a stabbing pain attacked the base of his neck. It wasn't until he put his hand to investigate that he noticed something crawling near the pain. With a quick slap to the back of his head (that Peter was glad no one noticed) and a smooshed spider was on the palm of his hand. 

Peter didn't love spiders, but he’d never hated them either. What he did hate was the substantial bump forming at the base of his skull that hurt to touch. After he noticed it, Peter couldn't leave the protuberance alone. Little jolts of pain from the base of his skull, with a fun addition of nausea, distracted Peter from the end of the tour. 

Peter’s absentmindedness at the end of the trip didn't affect his comprehension of the tour because Ned provided a  _ very detailed _ commentary of everything they saw at Oscorp when the students loaded back onto the bus. Peter managed to pay attention to his friend's ramblings despite a forming headache. 

Eventually Ned noticed the other teen’s discomfort. “Dude, are you okay?” 

“Yeah, ‘m just feeling a little sick.” The queasiness in Peter’s stomach wasn't helped by the bumpy bus. 

When they arrived back at the school all of the students stood up and prepared to exit the bus. Peter swayed a bit as he stood, grabbing onto the back of the seat in front of his and Ned’s. 

“You’re not looking so good, Peter,” Ned observed while steadying his friend. 

“Thanks, dude.” Peter squinted against the harsh lights. 

“Your parents are picking you up, right?”

“Mr. Happy is; my parents are at meetings all day.” Peter stumbled out into the isles of the school bus with his friend’s help and started walking toward the door. 

“At least someone is driving you; I don't think you’d make it home like this.”

“I’m fine.” Peter’s lie was made all the more believable when he stumbled and almost fell on the last step of the school bus. 

“Whatever you say dude. I hope you feel better.” Ned patted Peter on the shoulder before the two parted ways. 

Peter made his way over to Happy’s car and opened the passenger side door. 

“Hey kid, how was the field trip,” asked Happy, doing his best to fake interest. 

“Fine.” Peter massaged his temples. 

Happy looked at his young charge closer. “You feeling okay, Peter?” 

“Just feeling a little sick. I don't think I got enough sleep last night.”

“Sure. Tell me if you need me to pull over.” Happy muttered something under his breath after his instructions that Peter could hear. 

The teen managed to keep his lunch down on the drive back to the tower and when Happy accompanied him up to the penthouse. 

They parted ways at the door to Peter’s room. “Tell F.R.I.D.A.Y. if you need someone to check on you, alright?” The man in the suit asked. 

“I will, thank you.” Peter smiled, closing his door and immediately ran to the bathroom to empty his stomach into the toilet. 

“Mini Boss, are you in need of assistance?” F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s helpful voice ran too loud over the room speakers. 

Peter sat back on the cold tiles and leaned against the wall. “Do you have cameras in the bathroom?” 

“I have no cameras in any private rooms or bathrooms, but I do have sensors in the floor that can detect if someone falls.” She could tell that he was sitting on the bathroom floor, which is almost never a good sign. “I have to ask again: are you in need of any assistance, Peter?”

“No, I’m okay.” 

“Okay, Mini Boss. If you want help or your fever exceeds 102 degrees I will alert your parents.”

“I’m running a fever?”

“Your temperature is slightly elevated, not medically a fever, but it could form one soon.”

“Okay, I’m just gonna rest for now. I’ll let you know if I need anyone.” Peter pulled himself off of the floor and rinsed his mouth in the sink. He washed his hands and popped out his contacts, placing them in their cleansing solution. 

He made his way to the blurry blue rectangle that was his bed and collapsed on top of the covers. Peter didn't have to wait long until exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep. 

oOo

Tony knew the meetings with the research and development branch of Stark Industries was very important, but he wished they were shorter…. or at least more interesting. Where were the flashy lights and glitter to keep him interested? How was he supposed to care about the improvements added to the new tablet when everything was written in black ink on a white poster? 

Anyways, Pepper paid enough attention for the both of them. The couple sat side by side at the top of a huge table with other company executives surrounding the other two sides and the end of the table used for the boring presentations. 

In the middle of an explanation of the solar cells used on their solar powered cameras, Tony’s phone received a text notification from F.R.I.D.A.Y. “ _ Peter has a fever over 102°. _ ” 

That sentence got Tony’s attention even without sparkles. “ _ When did this happen? Is he okay???? _ ” Tony typed back under the table without alerting his wife who sat next to him. 

“ _ He had a slightly elevated temperature when he came home from school; he’s been resting in bed since he got back. His fever is high enough to trigger the alert just now. _ ”

“ _ K, I’ll head back up to the penthouse, contact his med-team if he struggles to breath or his fever gets worse before I get thety. _ ” Pepper elbowing her husband lightly messed up his typed last word, but F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s advanced AI technology was able to decipher his desired meaning. 

“Honey, let's pay attention to the meeting,” Pepper whispered a helpful suggestion. 

“You know I don't pay attention anyway,” Tony whispered back. “This time it was actually something important: F.R.I.D.A.Y. said Peter’s sick.”

“Really? Do we need to leave?”

“I want to, just to check on him.” 

Pepper nodded and cleared her throat, getting the attention of the room. “Mr. Stark and I have to go deal with a family situation right now; take a 15 minute break. I’ll send out emails if we have to postpone the rest of this meeting for a later date.” 

oOo

Sleep was a blessing. Peter floated peacefully in and out of dreams that made no sense. He could have stayed in that world forever. 

If it was his choice he  _ would  _ have stayed in the dream world forever. Alas, it was not his choice. 

“Peter, kid, can you wake up for me?” A familiar voice broke through a colorful dream about an ice cream party in school. 

“Bud, you’re worrying me.” The next interruption dragged Peter out of his dreams a little more. 

“C’mon kiddo, I need you to wake up.” 

Peter started floating farther out of the dream world when pain gripped his body. Fire flowed through his veins, burning through every inch of his body. The teen curled into a ball to protect himself from the world. His eyes shut tightly to blockout the abrasive light. 

A small hand brushed Peter’s damp hair away from his face. “Honey, can you tell me what’s wrong?” Pepper’s voice asked, concern tinging the edges of her question. 

“Hurts,” the curled up teen mumbled into the blankets he was sitting on top of. 

“Where does it hurt, buddy?” Tony sounded closer. 

“Everywhere.” Peter forced himself to speak again. 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. get a med team up here.” Pepper instructed the AI. 

“It’s going to be okay, kid. You’re going to be okay.” 

Gentle fingers carded through his hair until the medics arrived, stretcher in tow. 

“Peter, my name is Dr. Turner, can you rate your pain on a scale from one to ten?” A feminine sounding voice asked. 

“Eight?” 

“Okay, we’re going to get you on the gurney and go down to medbay and we can get you some good painkillers.” 

“Mm,” Peter humed his acknowledgment. 

“Are you most comfortable in your current position, Peter?”

The curled up ball of teenager whispered, “Yeah.”

The woman who had spoken to him started giving instructions to the team around her, words that Peter couldn't quite focus on. 

The wheels of the gurney squealed as they came closer to the bed. The comforter blanket underneath Peter stiffened with tension. The medical team held the blanket steady. 

“Peter, on the count of three we’re going to transfer you onto the gurney.”

“M’kay”

“One… two… three.”

Peter grunted as the blanket he was on was dragged sideways onto the gurney positioned next to his bed. The fire inside him burned a little stronger and his hold on consciousness wavered. 

“-ter? Can you hear me?” Dr. Turner asked.

Peter humed another confirmation. 

“Good. We’re going to get you down to medbay now.” 

The little guard rails on the moving bed came up, the blanket padding the sides. 

Peter didn't notice time passing, but eventually someone was inserting an IV into his right arm while the harsh scent of antiseptic chemicals filled his nose. 

Slowly the pain lost some of its hold on Peter and the teen came back closer to reality. 

“We’re going to run some tests, is that okay Peter?” Dr. Turner asked. 

“Yeah.” 

“Are you able to lay on your back so I can reach your stomach?”

Peter uncurled slowly, keeping the arm without the IV covering his eyes to block out the abrasive light. 

“I’m going to press down on your stomach, tell me if you have any discomfort.”

“‘Kay.” 

Cold hands put pressure on the soft flesh of Peter’s abdomen, but nothing hurt anymore then the low ache already present. 

“Everything seems fine. We’re going to run two tests right now then set you up in a room. How does that sound?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I have your left arm so we can draw some blood?” The arm over his eyes. 

“Mmm, right arm.” The teen instructed.

“What do you mean, Peter?”

“‘M left handed.”

“Yes you are. I still need to draw blood from your left arm.”

“Take it from my right, please, I need my left.” 

“You have an IV in your right arm already.” Oh yeah, Peter forgot about that. “It would be easier to use your left arm, Peter. You’re going to be resting for a while so you won't have to use your left arm.”

“Oh. But it's bright.” 

“Here honey.” His mom’s soft hand lifted up his forearm that covered and replaced it with her hand. 

With no more excuses at hand, Peter had to give up his blood for science. “Don’t clone me, please.” 

The doctor let out a small chuckle. “I make no promises.”

Peter’s painkiller ridden brain didn't know if she was joking. 

oOo

In the MRI to check the teen’s spinal column (just in case), Peter fell asleep. A black eye mask substituted for a person’s arm. 

The medical team moved the sleeping teen into a private room while Dr. Turner spoke to Peter’s parents in the hall. 

“His blood test and MRI both look normal at first glance, but we’ll need to review them in more detail. His white blood cell count is higher than normal, which indicates that this is just an aggressive virus and nothing more malicious.”

Tony let out a sigh of relief. 

“Can we stay with him?” Pepper didn't want to leave her son. Seeing him sick and in pain scared her a lot more than she cared to admit. 

“Yes. I’ll have someone move in a couple cots for you tonight. We’re giving him cool fluids and medicine to reduce his fever in the IV, along with the painkiller drip. He’ll need lots of rest, so don't disturb him.” 

“We won't. Thank you Doctor.”

“It’s my job Mr. Stark, no need to thank me.” 

The nurses that got Peter situated in the room filtered out before Tony and Pepper entered to see their son. 

Aside from the wires and tubes that were connected to him, Peter looked peaceful. Much better than when Tony and Pepper first found him huddled in a ball on top of his blankets. 

“If Oscorp injected him with something I’m-”

Pepper interrupted her husband's rant, “Tony. He just has a nasty bug. Let’s not go to war with Oscorp; we have an almost civil relationship with them right now.” 

Tony turned back to her. “You’re right, as always. I just- I hate seeing him like this, Pep.”

Pepper pulled the man into a hug. “He’s okay. Everyone’s okay.” 

“I know. Thank you.”

oOo

Peter slept for the rest of the day and into the night. His fever didn't get any higher, but it also didn't lower. There were no problems until well after midnight, when Peter’s face twisted, even in sleep. 

The lights on the room were dimmed to help Peter sleep. Pepper was also asleep in one of the little cots next to the hospital bed, leaving Tony as the only sleepless person in the room. 

Tony leaned over on his chair next to his son’s bed, and placed a hand on Peter’s soft brown curls. “You’re okay, kiddo,” the tired dad whispered in an attempt to comfort his sleeping son. 

Despite Tony’s efforts to be quiet Peter opened his eyes, looking around the room wildly. 

“Peter, hey-” before Tony could continue, fear flashed in Peter’s eyes and he scooched as far away from his father as plastic barriers on the bed allowed, the IV tubing pulled a little on the edge of the clear latex protecting the insertion site. 

“You’re- you-you’re not-” Peter stuttered out staring at Tony. 

The commotion woke Pepper, who sat up in the cot that was positioned behind Peter’s bed. “Peter? What’s going on?” 

The teen in question whipped around in the bed to face his mom. “Pepper, he’s here.”

Pepper met Tony’s eyes and saw that he didn't know what Peter was talking about. “Who’s here, Peter?”

Peter turned back around and pointed at his dad. “He-” A confused expression spread over the teen’s face. “Tony?” 

“Yeah bud, it’s just me. Who did you think-” Tony was interrupted by the entrance of Dr. Montgomery, who came for the night shift.

“It’s good to see you awake, Peter.” The doctor turned on the overhead lights as he spoke, and Peter squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m sorry about that, would you like me to keep the lights off?”

The teen gave a small nod, and Montgomery flicked the fluorescent ceiling light off so only the lamp that was previously on lit the room. “Is that better?” 

Another nod in confirmation, this time with eyes open. 

“Can you tell me how you’re feeling, Peter?” 

Peter looked around the room again. “I… um.”

“He’s been really confused since he woke up,” Tony informed. 

“Okay. I’m just going to take his temperature again.” Dr. Montgomery ran a little device over Peter’s forehead briefly before looking at the digital numbers on the screen, frowning. “Your temperature has gone up a little since a nurse checked it earlier,” he stated. “I’ll have someone come and switch this out,” he tapped the almost empty bag of clear fluids, “and give you your next dose of medicine. Does that sound okay?”

Peter’s eyebrows furrowed as he tried to focus on the doctor's words. “Uh, yeah.” 

With the teen’s affirmation Dr. Montgomery disappeared and in less than a quarter of an hour Peter was back in an uneasy sleep. 

oOo

The next time Peter woke up all he knew was pain. The same burning pain as before raced through his body, rendering him immobile, curled up on his side. The only sign that the teen had awoken was the small whine that escaped his lip.

“Peter?” Pepper’s voice floated into his ears from above. A soft hand stroked through Peter’s hair. “You’re okay, sweetheart.” 

Peter let out another quiet whine. 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. can you get the doctor?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Is he okay?” Tony's deeper voice asked, thick with sleep. 

“I don’t know.” Fingers gently combed through his messy curls until a third voice joined the group. 

“Is everything okay?” Dr. Turner was back. 

“I’m not sure. I think he’s awake, but he seems to be in pain again.” 

A latex gloved hand slipped into his own and a quiet voice spoke. “Hey Peter, squeeze my hand if you can hear me.”

Peter applied a little bit of pressure to the hand in his own. 

“Good job, Peter. Are you in any pain? Squeeze my hand once for yes, twice for no.” Peter squeezed her hand once. 

“Okay.” The latex hand left Peter’s and there was a rustle of clothing as Dr. Turner moved around the room. Eventually she spoke again. “We’ll start giving him more painkillers and hopefully he can kick this fever soon.” 

The teen slipped back into sleep, exhaustion overtaking the pain despite only being awake for a few minutes. 

oOo

Peter stayed asleep for most of Wednesday. Every so often nurses came in to check his vitals, take his temperature, or give him more medicine. Luckily his temperature was going down; by noon that day it was back to regular levels. 

It was 1:30 in the afternoon before Peter woke up again. He looked up at his parents groggily and asked, “Am I late to school?”

“Oh, only by a few hours.” Tony smirked. 

“Whoops.”

“How are you feeling, honey?” Pepper asked. 

“Better?” Peter squinted from his place in the bed. “Can you dim the lights a little.”

“Yeah, yeah.” His dad stood up to get the lights. “The lights still bothering you, kid?”

“A bit. I’m hungry”

“Well, your fever is gone, maybe we can get you out of here and make some real food.” Pepper suggested. 

The family didn't have to wait long for their meal. Dr. Turner released Peter from the medwing soon after he woke up and was feeling better. 

Tony made grilled cheese and Pepper made tomato soup while Peter got a change of clothes and cleaned himself up in his room. The non- fluorescent lights in the penthouse didn't hurt his eyes as much, but he still dimmed the lights once he was alone.

It wasn't until he was washing his hands in the sink and Peter saw his contacts container that he realized the world wasn't blurry even without the corrective lenses. 

That discovery wasn't the only strange occurrence that made Peter wonder if he really had the flu. At lunch it seemed at first like something very sticky was stuck to his fork, Peter couldn't quite get the untencel to release itself from his grip. He’d used a fork for his salad, but grilled cheese isn't really prime fork-food so he’d tried to set the utensil down. The fork didn't want to separate from his hand and Peter ended up fighting the pointy piece of metal underneath the table with an expression of mild terror painted across his face. 

“You okay there, kid?” Tony asked as he carried over the freshly made grilled cheese. 

“Yup.” Peter’s voice was a little higher than usual. “Just…. Texting… ”

“Well put that phone down, because you’re about to experience what the  _ New York Times _ called the ‘World’s Best Grilled Cheese.’”

Pepper sat down with three bowls of soup. “Tony, you have to stop telling people that.” 

Peter would have laughed is he didn't have his hand stuck wrapped around a fork. The teen gave up fighting and brought his hands back above the table, grabbing his knife and cutting the sandwich into bits. He used the offending fork to dip pieces for the grilled cheese into the tomato soup. 

There were only two flaws to Peter’s brilliant plan. One was his parents' quizzical faces and Tony’s teasing comments about his impeccable manners. The other problem was now he had a knife stuck to his other hand. 

As the minutes ticked by Peter’s stress levels only went up. 

Eventually all of the food was eaten and the parents were cleaning up. Tony looked down at his son who still held the form and knife. “Can I take your silverware to the sink, kid?” 

Peter looked up at his dad. “Um… I- uh, actually have some… Hot Cheetos in my room and I don’t want to, like, get the powder all over my fingers, so… I’m going to take these with me. If that’s okay…” 

Tony looked amused. “Sure, just being them back when you’re done.”

Peter successfully escaped to his room with dignity mostly intact. 

After a brief panic when running his hands under warm water still didn’t release the utensils, Peter forced himself to calm down. He took a few deep breaths and relaxed his muscles. 

The sound of metal against tiles as the fork and knife fell made a smile breakout across the teen’s face. 

Now all Peter had to do was figure out what was happening to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I soooo sorry it took me so long to update! I can’t promise that I’ll be any faster this time, but I will try:)
> 
> When Happy was driving Peter home from the field trip he muttered something under his breath that Peter couldn't hear, I wrote what he said in the comments of my doc and my friend and editor begged me to tell you guys what he said so here you go: 
> 
> “Just feeling a little sick. I don't think I got enough sleep last night.”
> 
> “Sure. Tell me if you need me to pull over.” Happy muttered something under his breath after his instructions that Peter could hear. (“Wouldn’t be the first Stark boy to puke in my car.”) 
> 
> If you are worried that certain characters will be killed of something in this story please PM me on FanFiction.net (TheWeirdPersonNextDoor), DM me on instagram (@the_weirdpersonnextdoor) or tumblr (TheWeirdPersonNextDoor), I’ll tell you as much of my plans as I’m able to:)


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